Percy Jackson: Ascension
by A Samhildanach
Summary: Percy opened his eyes, certain Kronos had killed him. But he wasn't in the Throne Room, or in the Underworld, he was... back at Yancy Academy? Percy decides he won't waste this second chance at his demigod life. Who will he choose to save, and who will he choose to destroy? How much stronger will he become before he faces the Titan Lord once more? T for occasional strong language.
1. The Rebeginningening

**I've had this idea in my head for a very long time, and it was only the publication of a similar story that caused me to actually write it. I'll refrain from commenting on the quality of the story to which I refer, Shattered, by Josh the Pleb, but I will say that while similar, it is not the same story. Not even remotely.**

 **This is slightly AU, as you'll see in the very beginning.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Any verbatim phrasing is used entirely for effect, and otherwise was carefully avoided, using the source material as a guideline.**

 **Without further adieu, Chapter One!**

* * *

Percy lay in the throne room, with Luke-turned-Kronos standing over him. His friends were dead. Riptide was in the fire. The gods were nearly dead, too, with their thrones destroyed.

And Percy was about to join them.

He heard the horrible laugh of the Titan Lord echoing throughout the room.

"You put up a good fight, pitiful demigod," Kronos said, with a terrifying smile.

Percy braced himself for death.

"As a reward, I'll kill you quickly. Begone!"

Percy steeled himself with all his might, summoning all his power in what he knew was a vain attempt to repel his enemy's blade, and shut his eyes in anticipation.

But the scythe never met his weak spot.

He kept his eyes shut, still bracing for the impact of the scythe.

That was when he felt an overwhelming blast of energy strike his head, which he tried desperately to counter, but failed. He was dead.

Or so he thought.

The pain never left his head, but he wasn't... Actually, he wasn't really sure what was supposed to happen when you died. Maybe this was it?

He opened his eyes cautiously.

He was no longer in the throne room. There was no Kronos. His dead friends weren't here either.

This room was small and warm. Actually, it was this bed that was warm. And these sheets. Huh? Just where on Earth was he?

He looked around, and blinked his eyes repeatedly.

He was in a small dark room, and finally, he realized where he was.

He was at his dorm room. His dorm room in Yancy Academy.

His head was swimming. This wasn't. This couldn't be. There was no way... this had all been a dream? Was there?

He didn't understand what was happening. Throwing off the covers, he looked down at his body. He was, in fact, 12 years old again.

He didn't know what was happening. He leapt out of bed, threw open his door, and ran down the hall. He had to remember where the nearest water fountain was, but when he did, he ran straight for it. He needed to make everything hadn't been one long dream.

He quickly made his way to the water fountain. His fingers trembling, he feverishly pressed down the button, releasing the water.

And he was able to control it, as if nothing had happened. He even noted it was easy to do. He had as much control as before.

He slunk down, panting heavily.

"So it wasn't a dream. Haha, how could it have been? No dream lasts four years. Gods, I really am a Seaweed Brain."

He remembered Annabeth, and his heart sank. He remembered what had happened in the throne room.

 _"Luke, please! I've never stopped loving you! Please, come to your senses!" Annabeth screamed._

 _Kronos's cold voice responded, "Luke is dead, stupid halfblood. There is only me."_

 _But Annabeth refused to believe it. "Luke, I know you're in there! I love you! Please, just, come back!"_

 _Percy's heart broke. Somewhere, deep inside, he'd always known. She'd only ever loved him like a brother. She was confessing to Luke._

 _Suddenly, the Titan lord's scythe flashed and Annabeth's head dropped to the floor. Kronos said, evilly, "I told you. Luke is dead."_

Percy felt the tears start to fall down his cheeks. He needed to get back to his room. If he let it all out here in the hallway, everyone'd hear. He didn't want to get embarrassed, and have to explain himself.

He ran back to his dorm room, closed the door, and threw himself onto his bed.

Why? Why did love have to hurt this much? Why did he get sent back in time, if he didn't get to be with Annabeth? It wasn't fair! But really, why did he get sent back in time at all? Was it the fates? No, they weren't that kind to him. If it was time travel, then... did Kronos accidentally send his consciousness back in time? Was it something _Percy_ did? Percy decided he'd figure these things out after he finished sobbing.

And sob he did, albeit silently. It was amazing he hadn't woken Grover up. He had only just remembered that Grover shared a room with him. For hours, he cried. Even though he had gotten this second chance at everything, he still cried. The pain wasn't erased. And Annabeth's confession still stung fresh in his mind.

After he had stopped sobbing, though tears still fell, he decided. Things would be different this time. This time, he would win. He'd find some way to expose Luke. No, to help Luke. Luke had been killed. It was Kronos who killed his friends. He needed to tell Luke about how much Hermes cared about him, somehow. Or maybe, somehow, he'd get stronger than Luke. He had four years, after all. Whatever he decided to do, he needed to find out when exactly he was.

But he was so tired. He decided that, before anything, he really needed to sleep.

* * *

When Percy woke up, his head still ached, though not nearly as bad. He wondered if he still had the curse of Achilles, but that could wait. He glanced at his alarm clock, but the date didn't particularly mean anything to him. He scampered around his room, looking for anything to tell him what exactly he was supposed to do in this stupid school. When was class, what were his classes? He didn't remember any of it.

Finally he found what he was looking for. The information sheet for the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The day things had taken a turn for the worse. The day that was... today!?

He jumped up and threw on his clothes.

"Hey, Grover, what's up?" Percy asked Grover, who was already awake.

"Nothing much, man. You ready for the field trip?"

"Uh, yeah, dude," Percy said, as he tried to remember anything about his life at this time. "I'm pretty excited for this one. Don't you love C-Mr. Brunner?"

Percy was terrified he had already been exposed, but Grover didn't seem to notice.

"Yeah, he's really cool," said Grover.

Percy followed Grover around until they finally got on the bus for the field trip. Percy remembered Nancy Bobofit. He wondered what he'd do differently this time. If he never antagonized her, how would Mrs. Dodds get him alone? Would she actually try this time?

The bus started moving at the same time Nancy started to tear off a piece of her disgusting peanut butter and ketchup sandwich. Percy knew he wasn't going to put up with her this time. He wasn't going to fight her, but he could still protect Grover.

A chunk of sandwich flew threw the air. Percy's hand shot out and caught it. He was glad his reflexes were still strong, even if it felt very odd being so short and weak.

Nancy looked annoyed. She tore off a slightly bigger piece and threw it.

Percy caught that one too.

And the next one.

And the next one.

Eventually, Percy had the entire sandwich in his hands.

And Nancy looked absolutely pissed.

She started getting up, and looked about ready to start fighting, but the bus stopped and everyone started getting off.

"Um, thanks a lot Percy. Sorry you have to protect me all the time." This time, Percy knew what he meant. Grover was supposed to protect Percy, but Percy had spent most of this year protecting Grover. Percy decided he'd try to make him feel better.

"It's alright, Grover. You'd do the same for me." Percy saw that Grover did, indeed, look a little better.

Percy decided that he'd save everyone he could, and try to do everything he could to make people feel better. But he couldn't tell anyone. He had barely survived the gods' wrath originally. If they figured out he had some amount of special experience, they'd never believe what he said. This needed to remain a secret. It wasn't as though the gods could read minds or memories or something, right? At least, he'd never witnessed this. You'd think, if that were possible, no one would be able to turn traitor at Camp, because Dionysus was there. At least, this was Percy's hope.

They all shuffled off the bus, and into the museum, where Chiron led the tour. Percy knew Nancy and her friends weren't going to be quiet so he ignored them. It was interesting how much more patient he had become over the years.

Eventually the tour came to the stele with Kronos, and Chiron asked Percy what the pictures meant. Percy was determined to give the right answers- all the right answers- this time around. He was Percy 2.0.

"That's the Titan King Kronos-" Percy shivered as he said his name "-devouring his children, the gods, after learning of a prophecy that predicted his downfall at the hands of his children. But his wife, Rhea, hid his youngest son Zeus, and gave Kronos a rock to swallow instead. Some time later, Zeus infiltrated his father's palace as a servant, and tricked his father into drinking a poison that caused him to barf up his children, causing the war between the Titans and the gods, called the Titanomachy, which the gods eventually won. The gods killed their father, sliced him into bite sized pieces with his own scythe, and threw him into Tartarus."

There was a stunned silence. When had Percy started sounding so smart? Even Nancy Bobofit had nothing to say. Percy realized he had to dial way back on the knowledge. He was real suspicious, and he knew it.

"Er, yes, that is correct. On that happy note, I believe it is time for lunch. Everyone please follow Mrs. Dodds back outside," Chiron said, cautiously.

Just before Grover and Percy left, Chiron stopped them.

"Mr. Jackson."

Percy told Grover he'd catch up.

"Yeah, Mr. Brunner?"

Chiron stared Percy down straight in the eyes, sea green against intense brown. Percy was terrified Chiron knew, somehow.

"Do you have any idea why your studies are important in real life?"

Percy felt a flush of relief. Who'd expect this sort of time travel? He was relatively safe from being discovered, but considering how close he had gotten to being vaporized by the gods before, he needed to keep his power to a minimum. Save everyone he could, but don't let on that he had the skill of someone four years older. That was his plan.

"Er, because they teach us lessons about life?" Percy asked nervously.

"That is true," Chiron said slowly, "but your studies are vitally important. I'm pleased to see that you treat them as such. I will accept only the best, but you seem to be doing alright, even by those standards."

Pride filled Chiron's eyes, and Percy felt a genuine happiness. Chiron cared about all demigods. He was a father to him and... Annabeth.

Pain filled the young halfblood's eyes, and Chiron took notice.

"Percy, my boy, is something the matter?" Chiron asked, gently.

"N-no, Mr. Brunner, I just..." Percy tried to think up a lie, but realized he really didn't want to lie to the old horse. "I respect you a lot. Thank you."

If the centaur was taken aback by this, he didn't show it.

Mirth filled his ancient eyes as he told Percy to go outside and eat his lunch.

Percy wondered if Mrs. Dodds would still attack him today. He sighed as he walked towards Grover, who had already started eating. Today had been the day his life started to go from sort of okay to terrible. It was like some sick joke. His life was stolen from him, and the one bright spot had been Annabeth, but she had never loved him. Well, he didn't need love, anyways. He was going to train, and train hard. No one was going to die. Not when he had forehand knowledge of everything that was going to happen. It seemed the old saying was right. Knowledge _is_ power.

Grover looked up at Percy, who had a sort of sick smile on his face. "What in the world did Mr. Brunner say to you?"

Percy was shocked out of his thoughts, responding with an intelligent, "Wha?"

"You had a creepy look on your face, dude. What were you thinking about?"

Percy had to think fast. Quick Percy, quuuiiick!

"Er, I was just thinking about what I'm gonna do to Nancy next time she messes with us," Percy blurted out. Great. What was he gonna say now? He had already planned just to ignore her. Not like it really mattered, right? Then it hit him. That's exactly what he'd tell Grover!

"But, you're already on probation! You, you can't-" Grover let out a nervous bleat. Percy couldn't believe he didn't realize he was half-goat for so long.

"That's the beauty of it, man! I'm not gonna do _anything._ Just gonna brush it off like she didn't even do nothin'. That oughta mess with her head." Percy was rather proud of himself for coming up with such a convincing explanation.

"That's great, man! A nonviolent approach." Grover paused. "Can I have your apple?"

Percy was happy to oblige.

As if on cue, Nancy and her gang walked up to them, and she dumped her disgusting half eaten lunch in Grover's lap, minus one peanut butter and ketchup sandwich.

"Oops." She grinned with crooked teeth, waiting for the pair of boys to get upset.

But neither did.

"Gee, speak of the devil. We were just talking about how you were such a kind and caring person. It was real sweet of you to offer us some of your lunch. It was very kind. Thank you, Nancy." Percy spoke with such a gentle and sincere tone that even Grover almost believed him.

Nancy's face was a tomato: absolutely red. Percy assumed she was mad, but it turned out she was struck with a different emotion.

"Um, um, uh, thank you! I mean, uh, you're welcome? I'm sorry! Thank you!" Nancy was totally embarrassed, shifting her weight from one foot to the other constantly while she spoke, her hands behind her back, until she ran off. Her posse looked as confused as Percy and Grover, but they reluctantly followed her.

"Well, that was unexpected," Percy told Grover once they were alone again.

"You don't think she," Grover lowered his voice, "has a thing for you, do you?"

Percy leaned back so he could dip his hand in the fountain. "I don't know, man. Would explain a lot, wouldn't it?" Percy had gotten a little better at reading people in his four extra years, and it seemed likely the chronic thief harbored a little crush on the son of Poseidon.

Almost reflexively, with his hand in the fountain water, Percy began to manipulate the liquid slightly, subconsciously. He quickly realized his mistake, but the damage had been done.

The fury Alecto, disguised as Mrs. Dodds, the teacher, was right in front of him.

Percy quickly thought to himself that it must have been the sign she was waiting for to finally peg him as a son of the sea god. It was a little bonus for her believability that Nancy had just run off; others would simply think he'd "bullied" her.

Alecto pointed her crooked finger at him, and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Now, honey. Come with me."

Unsurprisingly to Percy, who'd seen it before, Grover tried to cover for him. He hadn't seen the water manipulation since it was behind him, so he said, "Wait! I bullied Nancy! It was me who made her run away from us!"

"A valiant effort, Mr. Underwood, but ultimately pointless," Alecto told him.

Percy couldn't resist making a joke. "Don't worry, G-man. What's the worst that could happen?" It was only funny to Percy, and even he had a passing thought of running away with Nancy Bobofit and pretending he wasn't a demigod. But it was only for a second.

And in that second, Alecto was already at the entrance of the museum.

Percy walked slowly up the steps, trying to buy as much time as possible for Grover to alert Chiron. Despite Percy's immense skill, he doubted even he could take on a Fury unarmed, especially in such a small body, and he really wasn't looking forward to testing if he still had the curse of Achilles. He kept forgetting to check, and he wasn't sure how he could without something sharp.

He trudged behind the Kindly One for what seemed like hours, certainly enough time for Chiron to know he was in trouble.

By the time the two had reached the Greco-Roman section, the gallery was empty.

A deep growl was emanating from Alecto's throat.

"You've been giving us problems, honey."

Percy didn't feel like playing it safe. This time around, he'd have fun with it.

"Actually, I haven't been," he said smugly.

"You... you what!?" Alecto screeched.

"I don't have Hades' high and mighty magic helmet, and I never did!"

Alecto was starting to transform. Chiron was nowhere to be found. Percy didn't notice.

"And I don't have the bolt, either. And even if I _did_ have it, I'm not gonna go trudging through the Underworld looking to hand it over to a god I don't even know!"

Alecto was a full on, leathery-winged, yellow-fanged, shriveled, old hag, and Percy had no Riptide, no water, and no Chiron.

"Die, honey!" Alecto screamed. She lunged at Percy, and he dodged her. She lunged again, and he dodged again. Still no Chiron. Percy knew he messed up, somehow. Was he not supposed to antagonize her?

While Percy was distracted, the Fury lunged once again, but this time slashing with both claws. Percy dodged one, but the other ripped through his shoulder like a ribbon. He yelped girlishly and grabbed his left shoulder, blood dripping down his arm. He did _not_ still have the curse of Achilles.

 _There_ was Chiron! Chiron threw Riptide, and Percy caught it in his good hand. He didn't have the strength to uncap it normally, so he grabbed the handle tightly with his right arm, and brought the cap down to his dangling left hand, and grasped the tip as hard as he could.

Alecto lunged, but this time Percy had a weapon. As she sped towards him, he ripped Anaklusmos from its cap-sheath as if he were really drawing it from a scabbard at his side, and, catching the Kindly one off-guard, sliced her upward from her right hip to her left shoulder as easily as if through water, and that was the end of her.

But Percy's arm hurt like all Hades. He turned his head to see if Chiron was still there, and he was.

"Mr. Brunner? What was that?" Percy asked convincingly while Chiron wheeled over to him.

"Nevermind that, my lad. Eat this. It will help with your arm," Chiron said, while handing Percy a modest sized piece of ambrosia.

Percy ate it, and felt the found start to close up.

"Why did you have a sword? And why did Mrs. Dodds turn into an old hag? Well, more of an old hag? And why did she think I stole a helmet and a bolt? What was she even talking about?" Percy thought he was putting on a decent show.

"I suppose there's no point in hiding this from you any longer, is there?" Chiron said sadly.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? What have you been hiding?"

"I had hoped you could enjoy your ignorance for a little while longer," Chiron said softly.

"Mr. Brunner? Just what in the world is going on?" Percy was really killing it. When had he become such a great actor?

"Not here, my child. I'll explain everything back at the academy. Come with me. But first, touch the cap of the pen to the tip of the sword."

Percy did so, and it shrank back to a pen.

"You may well need to use that in the future. I'd suggest keeping it with you at all times." Chiron was somber, and Percy tried to give him his best 'bewildered' look. It seemed to work.

"Let's go, Mr. Jackson."

Percy followed.

* * *

"So you're telling me I'm the son of a god?"

Percy, Chiron, and Grover were in "Mr. Brunner's" office back at Yancy Academy, that same night. They had had a second tour, with just Chiron, and Percy was impressed at the centaur's power over the mist. That kind of power would be useful to have. Of course, Percy was also a little peeved, because he knew if this had really happened to him, and he hadn't known what was going on, the waiting would have been absolutely dreadful.

"Yes, I believe so," Chiron supplied calmly.

"That... actually makes a lot of sense," Percy said. "It would explain a lot of the freaky stuff that seems to get me kicked out of schools all the time."

Grover sat next to Percy, not really saying much.

"And, young Percy, My name isn't actually Mr. Brunner."

"I figured. But if you're not a Latin teacher, then who are you?"

"My name is Chiron. I believe you may have heard of me?" he said, with a gleam in his eye.

Percy tried to look surprised. "But isn't Chiron supposed to... you know...

Chiron chuckled. "Have the lower body of a horse? Well, I do. I'd show you, but it's best not to make noise right now. Don't want to attract any unwanted attention. You understand, yes?"

Percy said he did and turned to Grover. "And what about you? Is your name really Grover?"

Grover looked hurt, and Percy felt horrible about it, but he felt he needed to be believable. He regretted it, but he thought it was best.

"Of course! And I'm really your friend! I mean, it's my job to protect you, but I didn't have to be your friend. I'm a satyr, and I was sent to this school to keep eyes on any demigods, and I found you, and we didn't necessarily have to get along, but we do, I mean... " He let out a long bleat and stomped his foot, which came off, being Styrofoam.

"Oh, Styx," he grumbled, and thunder howled in the distance, though that could've just been the storm raging outside.

"I know you're my friend, G-man! Don't ever forget it. I'm gonna ignore the fact my best friend is half-goat for right now, but.. what did you mean by 'job?' Did my mom hire you or something?"

It was Chiron who chuckled and spoke up. "No, no. There exists a camp, for other people like you. A sort of summer camp, though many campers stay the full year round. It's a place surrounded by a magical barrier, keeping monsters out. A place where demigods can train to protect themselves in safety, and occasionally go on quests outside the borders... very occasionally, recently. There are satyrs sent out to many schools across the country to scout out potential demigods. And," he paused, "it's where you'll be headed in the morning."

"What!?" Percy barely managed to keep from yelling.

"You know you are a demigod, which makes your scent grow much stronger. Other monsters will seek you out. It is not safe here anymore."

"Can I... can I at least say goodbye to my mother?" Percy knew it was far safer for both him and his mother if he stayed with Chiron, but... he loved his mother too much. He desperately wanted to see her again.

Chiron seemed like he wanted to argue, but relented.

"Alright, you can accompany your mother to the border of Camp Halfblood. She will know where it is. I look forward to seeing you there, Percy Jackson."

Percy sighed a breath of relief. He'd be able to say goodbye to his mother after all.

"Now, off to bed with both of you. You've a long day ahead."

Grover and Percy groaned, because they knew he was right.

They headed back to their dorm room in silence, and Percy fell asleep the instant he was in bed. And, for once, he didn't dream.

* * *

Somehow, the Greyhound Percy and Grover took the following morning broke down, in the exact same place as the firs time. Just Percy's luck. And, wouldn't you know it, the Fates were there again, sitting at their fruit stand, knitting a huge pair of socks. Percy made the same old joke about if the socks would fit him, because he thought it was a really good one. The encounter was exactly the same as Percy remembered it, only this time, it was in the morning instead of the afternoon. He still didn't know what they were trying to tell him. That he was going to die? He decided he'd figure it out later.

Grover muttered something about how no one gets past sixth grade, and made Percy promise to stick together until they got to camp.

This time, Percy listened to him.

Traffic was atrocious, and it was already early afternoon by the time they got from the bus terminal to Percy's apartment.

Percy warned Grover about his disgusting stepfather.

"Don't antagonize Smelly Gabe. He's a horrible pig, but if we're nice to him, he'll be nice to my mother." Percy decided that this time he'd be able to save his mother, and he didn't want Gabe to make her life Hades. That, and he was going to turn him to stone in a few months, so it wouldn't hurt to be nice to him in his final hours, would it?

The two walked in, and Gabe immediately asked for poker money, surrounded by his poker buddies. Grover had paid for the taxi, so Percy only had a twenty.

He walked over and handed the money to the greasy slob with a smile, and said, "I hope you win big!" He turned and added so softly no one could hear, "you slimy oaf."

Gabe looked surprised. "Uh, thanks, kid. Why the hell are you here, anyways?"

It was Eddie, one of Gabe's poker buddies, who answered. "Come on, Gabe. Ain't a kid allowed to see his mother every once in a while?"

Percy was grateful for the assist. He was also glad no one had noticed Grover, who was hiding at the moment.

Gabe mumbled in half-hearted agreement, and proceeded to ignore Percy.

Percy nodded to Grover, and both of them snuck to Percy's room, which was littered with empty beer cans.

"Man, you've got it rough, here. I'm sorry for ya, Perce," Grover said, sincerely.

"Isn't there some way my mom could live at camp? I mean, anywhere is better than here." Percy was only asking for appearance's sake, but he really meant it. It would be amazing if she could stay at camp. Then again, she'd never meet Paul that way. Percy liked Paul. He had a great last name.

"I'm sorry, but mortals just can't enter camp. There's a magical barrier, and, and... I'm real sorry." Grover seemed truly disheartened. He let out a long, soft, sad bleat.

"Hey, it's not your fault, G-man," Percy comforted.

"Thanks."

"Anyways, we gotta wait for my mom to get home. Why don't you tell me about camp?"

"Aren't you more curious about what the Kindly One was talking about?"

"If I asked, would you tell me?"

"Err... No."

"I didn't think so. Tell me all about camp! I want to be prepared."

Percy knew everything the satyr told him, but it was nice to just talk to his best friend. They hadn't been able to in a long time, because of how the war had progressed. Percy missed him.

Eventually, Sally came home, and Gabe told her that Percy had come home. She rushed to Percy's room, threw open the door, and was about to speak, when she noticed Grover.

"Grover? Why are you here? What's wrong?" Percy's mother was terribly concerned.

Percy responded. "Mom, I... I know who I am. It's not safe here anymore. I... I need to go."

Percy had to choke back real tears. He wanted to stay with his mom more than anything, now that she was here.

Sally looked about ready to cry. "I'm sorry. I've been selfish. I wanted to keep you here, with me. I knew it wasn't safe, but I... I'm so sorry. Am I ever going to see you again?" Tears were clear in her eyes.

"Of course, Mom!" Percy rushed out. "I'll be back here as soon as summer is over. Chiron can work something out with the mist to explain things to Yancy, and... I don't know. But I'm coming back, Mom. Don't worry."

Sally looked incredibly relieved, though still sad, while Grover sheepishly smiled. "Err, Mrs. Jackson-"

"Call me Sally," Sally interrupted.

"Right, Sally, do you think, um, you could drive the two of us to camp?"

"Of course, Grover, dear."

Percy almost forgot to be surprised Grover and his mother knew one another.

"Wait, how do you know Grover, Mom?"

"I don't know him, per se, but I knew he was watching you. Making sure you were safe."

"Sally, we need to leave here, and fast. Percy's scent is remarkably strong; there are probably monsters tracking us here as we speak."

"You're right. Follow me, boys."

Grover darted out the door, and Sally started talking as he did, to cover up the noise.

"Gabe, I need to borrow the Camaro. I'm taking Percy back to Yancy."

Gabe was unimpressed. "What? Can't you just take the bus?"

Sally was not in the mood. In a tone Percy had only heard once before, when she'd found out he hadn't told her everything about his year at Yancy the first time, she said, "Gabe. Keys. _Now."_

Gabe was as shocked as Percy. "Uhh, yeah, uh, here." He tossed her the keys. He turned to Percy. "Not one scratch, kid. Not one scratch on this beautiful car, or I'm coming up to Yancy myself."

Percy grinned. "Don't worry. I'll take _real_ good care of it." Gabe didn't seem to realize Percy knew something he didn't. He went back to his poker game.

* * *

New York rush hour traffic was not great, to say the least, and along with the storm that was rumbling, it was dark by the time they approached camp.

Everyone was thoroughly creeped out by the supernatural storm.

"Just a little further. Just a little further," Sally mumbled.

Percy knew lightning was about to hit the car. He braced himself for impact.

What he did not expect to see through the windshield was the Nemean Lion staring them down.

Sally slammed on the breaks, but it was too late. The car collided with the invincible lion, and flipped right over it. Percy quickly scrambled out of the wreckage, and got Riptide out of his pocket.

This hadn't happened last time! What on Earth had caused this!? Was it different, now? Where was the Minotaur?

Percy was pulled out of his thoughts by a ferocious roar. The Nemean Lion was right here, right now, but Percy wasn't sure he'd be able to beat it with no shield, no backup, and no strength. He hadn't had any time to work out yet, and his body was still weak. This would be a real test of skill.

"Grover, get help! Mom, run! It's me it's after!"

Percy focused back on the Nemean Lion, without checking to see what the others were doing. He'd have to stall until more campers could arrive. They were practically at Camp Halfblood by now.

Percy did his best.

"Hey kitty kitty kitty. Hey there! Who's a good kitty? You are! Yes you are!"

The Nemean Lion apparently did not like to be talked to like it was a dog.

It let out a roar and pounced with his jaws wide open for the kill.

Percy knew he didn't have time to dodge. He wasn't fast enough yet. He only had one shot at survival, and if he slipped up, he'd be dead. For good, this time.

Or so he assumed. After all, there was no Time lord funny business this time around. Just a lion.

As the lion sailed through the air, Percy uncapped Riptide. He'd have one shot. Just one chance.

The lion landed on Percy, but he stabbed up through the roof of its mouth with Riptide. The Nemean Lion dissolved, leaving its pelt on top of Pecy.

He had really done it! With no backup, no shield, no nothing.

It was far too late Percy realized that the Nemean Lion did not leave him unscathed. He felt his stomach get wet, and he looked down.

The lion's claws had dug through the center of his chest, nicking his heart. Blood was pouring out at an alarming rate. He was going to die.

He closed his eyes, and screamed.

"NO! I was supposed to save everyone this time! I was... supposed... to..."

Percy felt warm. His chest still ached, but when he opened his eyes, instead of the Underworld, he was back in his dorm room at Yancy academy.

He let out a loud groan and fell back asleep.

* * *

 **Hahahaha! Percy is still alive. What will he do differently next time? What caused the Nemean Lion to appear instead of the Minotaur? All this and more, in the next chapter of Percy Jackson and the Groundhog Years!**

 **The pairing has not been decided, but it won't be Annabeth. Feel free to leave a review with your suggestion, if you are so inclined. If you want to understand something, leave a review with your question and I'll drop you a PM explaining everything I can. All suggestions are welcome.**

 **I hope at this point you see the differences between this and Shattered, seeing as it's completely different. Any reviews complaining that I stole this idea from Josh the Pleb will be completely ignored, since the idea is hardly original in the first place, and I've been thinking about the concept for literally years.**

 **R and R, as they say. Though, if you're reading this, you've already got one 'r' down. All that's left is to review!**


	2. You Just Try Again The Future Is Waiting

**Before you read this, I'd like you to keep in mind that everything is not necessarily as you think it is.**

 **I'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. I'd _like_ to say that this chapter would have been out now no matter the reception, but that just isn't true. You all are entirely responsible for this being updated today, rather than on Friday. I have a lot of things going on during the week, so it's very difficult to find time to write. The tremendous outpouring of support (tremendous of course, being a subjective term) is not something I'm used to, and I hope I continue to meet your expectations.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Verbatim phrasing is unintentional, except where used entirely for effect.**

 **With out further adieu, here is the second chapter!**

Chapter 2: You Just Try Again (The Future Is Waiting)

Percy didn't understand.

How was he alive?

When Kronos killed him, it sort of made a little sense that he got sent back in time to now.

Now, of course, being midnight of the day, or perhaps day before, Percy killed Alecto; the day things started to go wrong.

But what Percy didn't understand was why he had come back to this time when he was killed by the Nemean Lion.

The only thing he could come up with was that _whenever_ he died, he would start back from the beginning. But why?

And another thing: why had the Nemean Lion showed up in the first place? It was supposed to be the Minotaur. And hadn't the Nemean Lion been under the control of the Titans? He was fairly sure the Minotaur had originally been sent by Hades. Percy came to the conclusion that before the Titans controlled the Nemean Lion, Hades had. The Titans must have stolen control of the beast after Atlas was freed.

After thinking about it on the bus ride to the museum, while halfheartedly catching Nancy's weaponized horror show of a sandwich, he decided that the reason the Nemean Lion had shown up instead of the Minotaur was probably because he had let on that he knew more than he should before he killed Alecto. Hades must have thought he was a bigger threat than the first time.

Percy decided then and there that _this_ time, he wouldn't let _anything_ slip. He was a hapless, 12 year old son of a random god.

He decided he would come up with a set of rules as he went on.

Rule One: If someone is going to die, save them.

Rule Two: Never let on that you know more than you should.

That was all he had so far. Hopefully, he wouldn't have to make any more.

Well, third time's the charm, as they say.

Nothing really happened any differently until Nancy dropped her lunch in Grover's lap.

This time, however, Percy hadn't told Grover anything about his plans for Nancy, because he only said anything about that to cover up why he looked so creepy when he was lost in thought about how differently he would do things that time. So it was that Percy didn't do things the same way. Not exactly.

He wanted to mess with Nancy way more than last time, as payback for all the bullying she'd done, and was going to use her crush on him to do it, so he stood up and said, "Thanks so much, Nancy! That was so sweet that you shared some of your food with Grover. Let me thank you properly!"

Percy stepped closer to Nancy, and as he did so, he made a startling discovery: Nancy had the exact same look as the Stolls whenever they got caught red handed pranking someone.

Percy didn't have time to think about that, as he was busy giving Nancy a great big hug.

"EEEEEEEK!" Nancy yelled, her face, somehow, redder than last time.

Percy realized that he probably shouldn't have done that. Why exactly was he being so mischievous? Maybe it was because he hadn't been able to for so long. Preparing for war would put a damper on anyone's practical joking spirits. Well, anyone except for a child of Hermes. Hold on a second... a child of Hermes? Why did that seem important?

While Percy was lost in thought, Nancy was rocking back and forth in place, gently hugging herself with a dreamy look on her face. Her posse, however, were not nearly so satisfied.

"What the heck is wrong with you!?"

"Why would you do that!?"

"Is Nancy okay? She's looking kinda strange."

Nancy let out a sigh of contentment, and everyone stopped suddenly.

This seemed to shock her into reality.

"Oh goodness," she said, before promptly bolting away, followed by her posse.

Percy was certain at this point that Nancy had a crush on him. A really big one, by the looks of it. He felt sorry for her, he really did. It was so long ago that he had hated her. Looking back, she was never really _that_ bad. Still, there wasn't much he could do unless she had godly blood.

Godly blood?

Suddenly, everything seemed to click. Constantly stealing things, same look as the Stolls. She was a daughter of Hermes! Percy's scent must have overpowered hers, and so Grover never noticed! Percy mentally kicked himself for not seeing it before. He was about to run after her when he remembered Grover.

Percy spoke nervously, "So, uh, that was unexpected, right?"

Grover was stunned. "What just happened, Perce? Why in the world did you hug her!?"

"I don't know, G-man! I thought it would tick her off, not make her swoon!"

"Too weird, man. Too weird.`

Percy sat back down on the fountain and dipped his hand in the water, nonchalantly; he needed to get back on track.

He wanted to help Nancy get to Camp Halfblood, but he really didn't have the time. Besides, she'd be safer not knowing. She certainly had a knack for theft, but she didn't seem particularly strong. Then again, neither did Percy. Percy pushed those thoughts out of his mind, and got back to the task at hand.

After manipulating the water a little bit, Mrs. Dodds took him to the gallery, and demanded that he confess, or he would suffer.

This time, Percy feigned innocence. Sure enough, just before he got into serious trouble, Chiron burst in, well, rolled in, shouted 'What ho!' and threw Riptide to Percy.

Percy made quick work of Alecto, and when he turned to look for Chiron, he was gone.

Good. All according to what happened to Percy 1.0. He was Percy 3.0 now, and Percy 2.0 was a horrible flop. Running his mouth had got him killed last time, and it wouldn't happen again.

Unfortunately, now he needed to convince Chiron to let him go to camp early. He wanted to train, badly, so that maybe it would be a little less strange that he was so skilled.

He wandered back outside, after coming up with a plan, of course. Doing things more like Annabeth would be vital. He _needed_ to plan, or he'd fail once again. It was not particularly enjoyable, you know. Dying, and all.

He shook off his distaste after thinking of Annabeth. He was strong.

He went up to Chiron with fear in his eyes.

"What was that, Mr. Brunner?"

"What do you mean, my boy? What was what?" Chiron was acting just as well as Percy, but Percy knew Chiron was faking, and Chiron didn't know the opposite.

"You gave me this sword." Percy uncapped Riptide.

Chiron clearly hadn't expected that. Percy didn't know why he hadn't done this the first time around.

"Er, Percy, what are you talking about? That's my pen. Please bring your own writing implement in the future." Chiron clearly wasn't giving it his all. He wasn't sure Percy would buy it.

He obviously didn't.

"Mr. Brunner, this is clearly a magic sword. The one you use on tournament days. I just killed Mrs. Dodds, who turned into a monster and demanded I return some kind of football helmet and a bolt, whatever that means." Percy acted like he was in shock, and dazed by what he'd done.

"Percy, are you feeling alright? There's never been a Mrs. Dodds-"

Percy cut him off. "Mr. Brunner, with all due respect, I'm holding the sword in my hands. _What is going on?_ " Percy wasn't letting Chiron win.

Chiron seemed to notice this as well.

"Confound it all. Percy, I'll explain everything to you once we return to Yancy. "

* * *

From there on, it was smooth sailing, so to speak. He left Yancy the next morning, the bus broke down, the Fates cut someone's string, Sally drove them to camp. The only difference was that this time, Percy remembered what he'd learned at the end of his first quest. Gabe had been hitting his mother. Everything he said to Gabe was laced with fury. He was going to get his just deserts soon enough, but it would _never_ be soon enough. Percy wished he could go back that far, but he couldn't. He would just have to wait for Gabe to become a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism; in other words, a concrete sculpture.

Percy, Sally, and Grover were nearing Halfblood Hill when they heard a menacing roar, but not a feline one. It was the Minotaur.

Percy almost let out a huge sigh of relief, but was stopped when a bolt of lightning struck the car.

Percy was feeling euphoric as he checked Grover's pulse and scrambled out of the car.

He looked towards the Minotaur, in all his tighty whitey glory, who bellowed at him, searching for the demigod. His sight was terrible. He was try to smell him out.

 _My old friend,_ Percy thought. This would be the third time Percy had killed the beast. Percy decided he'd kill it before it had a chance to take his mother.

"Hey, ugly! Ground beef! Over here!"

The Minotaur charged.

He uncapped Riptide and gave the bull-man a good size gash on his abdomen as he jumped to the side.

He got ready for the monster's second assault. It had rushed past the car, and as the Minotaur started to charge back towards Percy, the driver's side door swung open, and Sally stepped out, dazed.

 _She never saw it coming._

Percy screamed, but she only looked confused. Why didn't she notice the Minotaur!?

Percy vision turned red as one of the bull-man's horns erupted form his mother's chest, a look of utter surprise on her face. She uttered one word. _Run._

Percy met the Minotaur's charge head on, sinking his blade deep into the monster's head, right next to his mother's corpse.

The Minotaur dissolved, leaving only an empty hole through Sally's chest.

Percy sank to the ground, and cradled his dead mother in his arms, tears streaming down his face.

He had to come to a decision.

Would he keep going? Or would he end it now, and hope he got a fourth chance?

The choice wasn't hard for Percy.

To steel his nerves, he said his next statement out loud, for all the world hear.

"A world without my mother is not a world I want to save," he said, before closing his eyes and running Anaklusmos across his neck.

He felt warm. He was back in his dorm room at Yancy Academy.

Rule 3: If someone doesn't die, don't try to save them.

He was supposed to run to camp with Sally, not fight the Minotaur right away. She would have been sent safely to Hades and remembered none of it if he just stuck to the original plan!

Percy wondered if maybe saying goodbye before he left Yancy was such a good idea after all. He could send word, or just come see her after he retrieved the bolt. The quest hadn't taken long at all. It would take even less time if the avoided the Lotus Casino. He could finish it and say goodbye to his mom for the summer with plenty of time to spare. He needed to come back after the summer was over though, to collect Tyson. Percy hadn't thought of Tyson since he died originally. He loved his brother, even if he was somewhat upset with his father for siring him. It would be a long time before Percy saw him again. A very long time, if his current progress kept up. So far, he'd only managed to make it to camp when he was actually twelve. He realized just how much he had relied on luck to survive in the past.

He fell asleep thinking about his plans for the future, and once again, didn't have a single dream.

* * *

Nancy had just dumped her sandwich and said 'oops' when Percy responded.

This time however, he wasn't going to antagonize her. The first time, er, second time, he hadn't known she had a crush on him. The second/third time it was payback. This time, he would do the right thing. If she was a demigod, Percy was going to find out. But to do that, he needed to get at least somewhat close to her. She only bullied Grover so Percy would give her attention, and he was fairly sure of it. Percy made a mental note to make sure Grover knew about his thoughts on the matter so he wouldn't think he was betraying him.

"Nancy, that was rude," he said softly. "But I forgive you."

Nancy sneered, though she couldn't keep a tiny blush off her face. "Like I want _your_ forgiveness, freak!"

She laughed, and one of her friends gave her a high five.

"Nancy, I mean it. I forgive you. For this, and everything. I know that you must have a reason for doing such awful things, and I think you must blame yourself, but know this," Percy had gotten up and placed his hand on her shoulder, "I forgive you."

Percy sat back down, but not before noticing the steadily rising blush on her freckled cheeks, and the way she stared at the ground in shame. He was slightly saddened. He hadn't _really_ intended for her to feel bad.

If Percy was sorry for making her feel shame, he was totally unprepared for what happened next.

He wasn't really looking at her when he heard the first sob. After that he was staring right at her. He saw tears streaming down her face, and she was trying to keep her face straight, and failing. No one looks attractive when they cry, and she was quickly sobbing harder and harder, until she was full on breaking down.

Percy shot back up and went to comfort her, as he was never one for letting girls cry, but she swatted his hands away, before screaming.

"I... HATE... YOU!" Nancy screamed between sobs. She obviously did not mean that. In fact, she probably meant the opposite.

She was hard to look at. Percy was stunned. Had she really felt that bad about all this, all this time? Percy felt awful about how he treated her his two previous attempts, as he'd taken to referring to them in his thinking. She needed better friends than her stupid posse. Grover and Percy _were_ better friends, and he felt obligated to help the young girl. If Percy was on the fence about staying at Yancy longer this go round, he wasn't anymore. He was going to do the last thing he _ever_ thought he would do: befriend Nancy Bobofit.

But before he could say anything, Nancy ran away, quickly followed by her posse, which Percy was growing less and less impressed with every passing second.

As they left, one shot out a quick, "We'll never forgive you for this, Jackson!" before turning around and following the others. As if Percy had meant to make her break down.

Percy turned to Grover. "I really do forgive her. It's just the right thing to do. You're not too mad at me, are you, G-man?"

"Naa-ah-ah!" Grover bleated out. Percy realized it was a bleat of happiness. Grover had been waiting for Percy to forgive Nancy all along.

Percy decided right then that this was the best possible outcome for this situation. Yes, Nancy was crying and probably felt horrible, but she had realized what she was doing was wrong. Maybe she hadn't even realized she wanted to be forgiven before this. Even if it turned out she was just an ordinary kleptomaniac, though Percy very much doubted that, he had sowed the seeds of doubt in her mind, and she just might be nicer in the future.

He had 'perfected' this choice, which is to say, he would do this every time he came back to it, which Percy hoped was never, but the realist in him told him it would probably be several more times at least.

Rule Four: Forgive Nancy.

He manipulated the water behind Grover just large enough for Alecto to notice.

* * *

After he'd killed Alecto, he played dumb with Chiron, gave him Riptide back without a word, and went back to classes at Yancy like nothing had ever happened. Everything had worked out fine with this quest, in the end, so retracing his steps wouldn't do too much harm, other than being boring. He had given a tiny thought to not manipulating the water and seeing how long Mrs. Dodds would stick around for before deciding he was indeed a threat, but decided quickly that he had liked Ms. Kerr, her replacement, much better.

Nancy acted... a lot different, after the incident at the museum. She avoided him as much as possible, and though her posse still bullied Grover, she never seemed to be around when it happened. As far as Percy could tell, she was still mean to people besides him, but slightly less than he remembered. Percy largely ignored her stupid fan club, protecting Grover when he felt it was necessary. It was easy to forget that Grover was actually still older than Percy, seeing as satyrs matured about half as quickly as humans. If Percy recalled correctly, Grover was around 28 years old. Percy got along with him a lot better, which was saying a lot, since they were already best friends.

Nancy did, however, keep stealing things. She never got caught. Not even once. Percy saw, but the victim never did. Being around the Hermes kids for such a long time, he knew when he saw a master at work. She was at least as good as the Stolls at thievery, and they were the sneakiest of the bunch. Percy had no doubt she was a daughter of Hermes. However, he could also tell if someone would be a strong fighter, being one of the strongest on the planet himself, and he could tell she wouldn't be. Certainly better than the average mortal, but below average for a demigod in terms of raw fighting power. That could be improved, though, with plenty of hard work. If he could get her to realize she should be nicer to everyone, he was sure she'd fit right in at camp.

It was a lucky break. He wanted to teach her to be nice, and he also wanted Grover to be close enough to smell her. The best way to do that, he figured, was to get the three of them together, and then make some excuse for him to leave, maybe he'd pretend he had to go to the bathroom or something. That way, Nancy would be close enough to Grover and Percy far enough away. It was a plan worthy of Athena, or so Percy congratulated himself. He had no idea how to get the three of them together, but that was only a minor setback.

He could try to get all three detention, but then Percy wouldn't be able to leave. Maybe organize a study session? He and Nancy would both have dyslexia, so that was plausible. Grover had pretty good grades, he could tutor them or something. But he would have to actually become friends with the girl first.

At any rate, Percy was tired of being shrimpy. Every day he exercised, but never went to the gym, so as to not arouse suspicion. Push ups, sit ups, squats, everything. It was slow goings at first, but he was getting stronger. He ran laps around the building every few days, too. He was getting faster, and he was increasing his endurance at the same time. It wasn't long at all before he could easily do a hundred push ups and curl ups at a time. Being a demigod certainly had its advantages. Percy had a plan, and he needed to be as strong as possible to do it.

It was actually kind of a chore for Percy to keep his grades as low as they had been before. While he still had dyslexia, he had memorized what more words looked like by now, so he could read far better than before. Still not easily, but more so. He also had completed middle school, so it was not terribly hard for him to complete the sixth grade. He had to purposefully answer questions wrong on tests, just to keep his D average. He felt like a fool.

He was lucky that he had a lot of the same classes as Nancy. A few weeks after the incident at the museum, Percy caught Nancy before she ran out of Latin. He decided he'd have to take the direct approach, or he'd never get her to open up.

"Nancy!" he called. She paused for a second. Percy got up and went closer, so only they could really hear what was said.

"We should talk," Percy suggested. It felt nice, not having to lie. Not just retracing your steps.

"What are you talking about, freak?" Nancy said, but her heart wasn't in it. It was more a reflex than an insult.

"Nancy, just... I'll be in the library at six. I'll be waiting." With that, Percy pushed past her, leaving her confused.

Percy almost didn't realize she'd swiped his wallet as he passed her.

He turned around. "Also, I'd like my wallet back, thank you very much. Hand it over, Boba Fett."

He hadn't meant to call her that. It sort of just slipped out. But instead of being angry, Nancy looked straight down at the floor, his wallet in her outstretched hand.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

Percy said with a grin he made sure she saw, "I forgive you," as he took his wallet back. He didn't realize she'd swiped a fiver until he was back in his dorm room. She was good. Damn good.

He realized with a start that Nancy was probably freaking out that no one remembered Mrs. Dodds ever existed. Percy had kept pestering Grover about Mrs. Dodds, for appearance's sake, but he now realized that if he and Nancy both told Grover they knew about Mrs. Dodds, he might have no choice but to cave and send them to Chiron. He might not even need Grover to smell her!

It was with those thoughts that Percy went to the library, intending to be slightly early for his meeting with Nancy. When he arrived, he quickly realized how suspicious this looked. It was almost like he had asked Nancy on a date. Three or four years ago he would've gagged at the thought. Now, it was just... a little odd. She certainly wasn't unattractive, it was just that Percy, well... mentally, he was sixteen. But it seemed only his memory and skills were sent back in time, not his hormones, because he couldn't deny he felt at least a passing attraction in her, purely physically. He was very conflicted. That is, until he remembered he didn't actually like Nancy Bobofit. Then he felt fine.

Nancy showed up at six o' clock on the dot. Percy almost expected her to say, "Have you been waiting long?" but she did not, for which he was grateful. Instead, she simply sat at the empty table across from Percy.

"What... what did you want to talk about?" Nancy asked nervously, but quietly. The library was louder than it should have been, but not loud enough that they could speak with full volume and still not be heard.

 _Do you remember Mrs. Dodds?_ was what he wanted to say, but he obviously couldn't lead with that.

"Why have you been avoiding me?" Percy asked earnestly. He was interested to see how she would respond.

"When did you change so much?" Nancy boldly countered. Percy hadn't expected that.

"The night before we visited the museum, I..." Percy hadn't actually thought about what he'd say to this question. It was actually incredibly refreshing, to be stumped like this in a conversation. He usually knew exactly what would be asked.

"I had a dream," Percy finished. "It really put things into perspective. I realized that you must have motives for being so mean to everyone all the time." Percy was a little more rude than he needed to be, but he wanted her to open up, and the best way to do that, Percy thought, was to make her mad.

This time, it worked. "Maybe I wouldn't be so mean if my mom-!" she caught herself before she said anything more, but Percy heard enough to get his foot in the door.

Nancy's red face and orange freckles looked a little funny when Percy asked, "If your mom what, Nancy?"

Nancy was silent.

"Nancy, is your mom mean to you?"

Nancy shook her head and mumbled out, "Not exactly."

"Then what, Nancy? Please tell me," Percy comforted, but he wasn't faking anything. It was horrible when someone had no good parents.

"She... she..." Nancy shook her head again. She was telling him she couldn't say it.

"It's alright, Nancy. You don't have to tell me now. You can tell me when you're ready." Percy's tone was so gentle, it surprised even him.

A surprising amount of the time, that line got people to talk right then, and not later. So it was this time, as well.

"My mom... she doesn't really care about me. She ignores me. I've been sent to boarding schools since kindergarten. But when I come back, it's like... like she's not even happy to see me. Too busy with her business for her only daughter," Nancy said bitterly.

It was time for the kicker. Percy steeled his nerves. "What about your dad?"

"Hmph. Never met him. Mom never talks about him."

It was common. Hermes was a bachelor god, so he had more kids than a lot of the rest of the gods. He would visit some once, when they were children, but not often. He often didn't even remember having them, but Percy knew he cared about all of them. Percy had seen it in the god's eyes multiple times. He wasn't a bad guy.

"Me neither. My dad left before I was born. But my mom's the nicest person in the world. I'm sorry you didn't have the same luck."

"Maybe that's why you're so much nicer than me," Nancy mused. Percy had a guess she was bright, and it seemed he hadn't been proven wrong yet.

"Maybe. But don't you want to be nicer, Nancy?" Percy asked, hopeful.

"Of course!" Nancy snapped. "Sorry, I just. It's so hard. I try and try and try but I just can't seem to be nice to anyone!" Nancy's voice was starting to get louder. Percy spoke quieter than usual to remind her.

"But you're being nice to me right now, aren't you?" Percy asked, bemusedly.

"You- you're right!" Nancy's face seemed to light up as she grinned. Maybe her teeth weren't that bad, Percy caught himself thinking. Nancy's face soon darkened however, as she said, "But you're different. I can't be nice to anybody else!"

"Well what makes me so different, Nancy?" Percy asked, teasing her.

"I don't know." Nancy mumbled so softly and quickly that it sounded more like "Iono" than "I don't know."

"How very eloquent, Boba Fett." Percy liked this new nickname for her. Wasn't very complex, but Percy seemed to think it was brilliant.

"Don't call me that!" Nancy protested, but with the tone she used, anyone could tell what she actually meant was "Please please please keep calling me that!" Maybe she'd never had a nickname before.

Percy and Nancy spent the next few hours talking to one another, talking about stupid pointless stuff, Nancy relishing in talking to the boy she had a crush on, and Percy relishing in a new conversation, something he realized he'd be having very few of for the foreseeable future. Unless...

"Oh my gosh I have to go! My roommate's gonna kill me if I'm not back soon! I'll see you tomorrow! Or... I don't know. I'll see you later!" Nancy rushed out the door.

Damn. Percy hadn't gotten a chance to ask her about getting tutored by Grover with him.

 _I guess it can't be helped... I'll just have to talk to her again soon. What can you do?_ Percy thought to himself as he made his way back to his room, where he did an extra set of a hundred pushups before going to bed. Grover was already asleep.

It was about a week later that the two actually managed to meet again, though, incredibly, it seemed no one knew they had met. Not many people went to the library, it seemed. It was also about a week later, and _after_ he had asked Nancy to study with him and Grover, to which she responded in the affirmative, with a spark in her eye, that he actually asked Grover if he'd be willing to tutor them. He'd seen the look he'd seen on Nancy before, on the other Hermes' kids. She wouldn't bully Grover, but she'd prank the Hades out of hm.

"Um... Perce... is there something going on between you and Nancy?" Grover asked, not quite nervously, but it was getting there.

Percy almost had wipe the disgusting taste off his tongue. "What? Eww, no, no that's... that's gross, G-man. We're just friends. She's actually not a total b-"

"Okay, Percy. I know she's not really horrible. I have a good eye for that sort of thing." Grover was slightly amused. He clearly thought Percy had a thing for her, which he didn't. He'd only really _known_ her for a week. And, contrary to popular belief, one week is not enough time to form a lasting opinion of someone. He still caught himself thinking she was a horrible person now and again, after four years of assuming it.

"Anyways, Grover, will you tutor us in Latin? Neither of us think we can pass."

"What are you talking about, Perce? You're like the king of mythology."

It was true. Percy held back in every class, but when a mythology question came up, he couldn't help himself. It was life or death for him-he had it beaten into him not to accept any misinformation when it came to the world of Greek gods and monsters, as that could easily lead to your early demise. He also did it for Nancy's benefit- she probably didn't listen to 'Mr. Brunner' before the incident, and he didn't want her to be totally uninformed, as many demigod's parents' tell them all about the myths as bedtime stories and such, and Percy very much doubted Nancy's mother had ever done that.

"Yeah, but I'm horrible at the actual language, G-man."

This was also true. Percy found out quickly that his skill in Ancient Greek carried over into Latin for only one thing: insults. Things like _braccas meas viscimini,_ or _revertere ad Ohio_ , which meant 'Eat my pants' and 'Go back to Ohio' respectively.

"Yeah, you are. Alright. Count me in. When is it?"

* * *

Percy and Nancy were already at the library when Grover walked in.

"What's up, _freak_ ," Nancy said venomously.

Percy smacked her lightly on the top of her head and said "Nancy!" in a playful yet unyielding tone.

"I'm sorry!" Nancy said, in an entirely different tone. She was genuinely sorry. "I- it's just a reflex! I didn't mean it!" She look down at the table and mumbled "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Grover said kindly. Percy knew there was a reason they were best friends. Grover could forgive anybody, so long as they recycled and didn't steal his cheese enchilada, which Nancy had almost done, once, but Percy stopped her, knowing full well the consequences of such an action would be swift and severe.

After about half an hour of conversatin' and conjugatin,' Percy decided it was time to put his plan into full effect.

"I gotta go to the bathroom. Play nice for a little while."

"See yah," Nancy and Grover said in unison, which made them look at each other strangely.

Percy left quickly, and found that he did actually have to use the restroom.

It took Grover less than a full minute to notice. He quickly realized who this girl really was. With Luke's scent, though less powerful, and the kleptomania, he put it together rather quickly, and groaned and put his head on the table.

Nancy took notice. "Come on Grover, I'm not _that_ bad at Latin. Or am I?"

"No, no, you're not that bad. Better than Percy, actually, though he's much better with mythology than you. By the way, do you happen to have... dyslexia?"

It was Nancy's turn to groan and put her head on the table. "Yes," she said, clearly upset.

"Don't worry, Nancy. Percy actually has it, too."

"He does!?" Nancy asked, excitedly.

That night, Percy followed Grover to Chiron's office in secret.

"Chiron, big news."

"Well, what is it, my boy?"

"Nancy Bobofit is a daughter of Hermes," Grover said bluntly.

* * *

The three became fast friends, and did almost everything together. Slowly but surely Nancy's old posse was disbanded, as their leader was changing into a different, better person. They had all gotten guff about the whole thing at first, but eventually a time came when no one could remember the three _not_ being friends. Everything was going swimmingly. That is, until Percy realized he didn't know how he was going to get Nancy to camp. He'd overheard Grover and Chiron saying that they wouldn't send _either_ to camp until it was totally necessary. Percy realized he needed to utilize Plan B: Mrs. Dodds.

Soon after he realized this, he casually asked Nancy about it when they were alone, when it didn't seem too odd that he was asking.

"What's up, Perce?"

"Do you remember Mrs. Dodds?"

 _Way to go, Percy. Way to slip it in there, all casual like. Smooth as butter. You gods damned idiot_ he berated himself.

Nancy didn't seem to care that it was out of the blue. She looked up at him with teary eyes, before launching herself at him.

"I... thought I... was going... crazy!" she choked out between sobs.

Percy uncomfortably wrapped his arms around her protectively. It wasn't as if they had never hugged before, but it was uncommon, and she'd never been bawling her eyes out, as far as Percy could remember.

"I used to ask everyone but they told me I was crazy! I didn't want you to think I was insane so I never asked you-ou-ou!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"And the same goes for me. I only just worked up the courage to ask you about it. I have a confession, Nancy."

She looked up at him, still in his arms.

"She was a monster. Like, a real monster. After the museum incident, she took me into the gallery and said a bunch of stuff about confessing or suffering but I didn't know what she was talking about! Then she transformed into a monster with bat wings and talons, and Mr. Brunner showed up, threw me a pen which transformed into the sword he uses on tournament days, and I slashed Mrs. Dodds with it, and she crumbled into dust." Percy finally had told Nancy, and it felt good. Of course, he still hadn't told her he knew everything about what he was talking about, but it was one less secret he would have to keep.

Nancy looked at him in shock. Percy was afraid she wouldn't believe him, but she started tearing up again and bawled into his shoulder once more.

"That would explain so much! All the boarding schools I went to, something freaky happened and I had to leave!"

"Me too, Boba Fett. Me too."

Percy let her cry for a few more minutes. She _had_ thought she was going bonkers. It was only fair to let her cry it out.

After a little while, Percy said, "We should confront Mr. Brunner about it." He wasn't worried about her arguing this point. If there was one thing Nancy loved doing, it was confronting people.

* * *

"Mr. Brunner, we both know about Mrs. Dodds," Nancy said, with a somewhat rude tone. She wasn't exactly _kind_ to authority figures, but this was about as nice as she got. She liked Mr. Brunner. He was cool.

"I remember, very vividly, killing her and her turning to dust," Percy added.

Nancy continued, "And then everyone forgot about her, but Percy and I both remembered separately for months!"

Chiron couldn't do anything about this tag team assault.

"And you told me there was never a Mrs. Dodds and said I wasn't feeling well, but Nancy remembers!"

"Explain that, Brunner!" Nancy finished.

Chiron looked like he was deep in thought for about a minute.

"I suppose I cannot hide the truth from you any longer. It was for your own good, but I can see you will not accept comforting lies any longer," Chiron said sadly.

Percy found it a lot easier to act surprised when there was someone next to you showing you how it's done.

Eventually, Chiron finished his spiel and the two children finished all their questions.

"I will send for Argus to collect you two and Grover in the morning."

"Grover?" Nancy asked.

Chiron explained to them both.

Nancy looked about ready to cry.

"So he wasn't really our friend?" She looked devastated. Percy tried to look just as devastated, be he just couldn't. He knew Grover was still their friend, but she didn't and she only had Percy and Grover in the entire world. Percy still had his mom.

Chiron smiled at them. "No, no. In fact, Grover told me he'd never met two people he enjoyed being with more in his entire life. And that means a lot coming from him, because he's 28 years old."

Nancy's eyes nearly bugged out of her skull, as did Percy's, though he was more forced. It still did weird him out every time he heard it.

"Twenty eight!?" Percy exclaimed.

"Yes, satyrs mature half as quickly as humans."

"That's crazy!"

"Quite. At any rate, you'll be headed to camp first thing in the morning. We'll notify your parents. You'll probably be able to see them again, at some point," Chiron said, not unkindly, though his words were somewhat blunt.

"Probably?" Percy asked. Nancy stayed quiet.

"Yes, if you decide to stay year round then there's really not much you can do, though many do go home once summer ends. After you've been trained, you can decide what to do. Which reminds me... do either of you want to continue at Yancy?"

Nancy looked down. "I kind of already got expelled."

Percy thought it was the perfect excuse, since he had forgotten to get kicked out. But he did actually mean it when he said, "Then I don't want to stay either. Let them kick us out, sir."

Nancy looked a bit better about it.

"I see. Well, get some sleep you two. You've a long day ahead of you."

When Percy told Grover, at first he looked worried, but he still managed to say, "At least we get to miss finals week."

* * *

Unsurprisingly to Percy, the van broke down on the way to camp. The fates were on the other side of the road, and Percy made the same stupid joke about the socks, which Nancy found hilarious. At first, Nancy had been scared by Argus, but she got over it pretty quick. She usually didn't _really_ judge others very quickly, even if she was mean to most everyone but Percy and Grover. She got along well with Argus. After the fates snipped the cord, the van came back to life, and they were back on their way.

Somehow, it had gotten dark by the time they reached camp. It didn't really make sense. Was this the work of the fates? Was an encounter with some kind of monster here at night unavoidable entirely? He shivered thinking about the repercussions it might have. If people's deaths were unavoidable, then what would be the point of all this?

Percy didn't have time to think about that as the menacing roar of the Minotaur was hear behind them, and Argus punched the gas in a futile attempt to reach camp.

The van exploded.

Percy was dazed, but could tell Nancy was conscious. Grover was not. He couldn't tell Argus's status, but he guessed the guy wasn't too badly hurt. He was a monster, after all. Percy scrambled out of the car, careful not to make too much noise. He was gonna play this one by the books, and try to run from the Minotaur.

Then he thought that he really would rather Grover be awake, so he leaned his head through the shattered window and whispered in Grover's ear, "Wake up! It's enchilada day and you're missing it!"

"Hh?"

"There's a bunch of tin cans over here!"

Grover's ears perked up, which was odd, because he had human ears.

"Hmph. Time for the big guns. Grover! Someone just threw a soda can in the trash!"

"WHA-!?" Grover yelled, before Percy clamped his hand over his mouth.

"The bull-man's here, Grover. We gotta get Nancy and go!"

Percy realized that Nancy was already out of the car, and had been listening to Percy try to wake Grover up.

"Great, let's just go then," he said.

They were almost all the way up the hill, Argus included, when it happened. The Minotaur found them.

A bellow came from directly behind them, and all four froze.

Percy spoke. "Keep going and bring help. We're almost there." Percy knew they wouldn't get help in time, but Percy had killed this wimp three times already.

They didn't know that.

"Absolutely not, Perce!" Grover said.

"I'm with Grover. We can fight it together," Nancy said.

"Argus, take them to camp. I don't want them to get hurt, and it's probably me who he's after anyways. I've got this loser. This tighty whitey-wearin' namby pamby beef patty ain't got nothin' on me."

Wordlessly, Argus scooped up both of Percy's friends, one in each arm, and started trudging up the hill, much to their chagrin, as they complained loudly.

Percy ran to the side while shouting insults at the monster, trying to direct its attention from the others. It worked.

Percy was far off to the side when the Minotaur charged at him with an enormous bellow. As Percy rolled to the side, he used the beast's momentum against it and ripped off one of its horns.

As it turns out, the Minotaur didn't like that very much.

As the bull man charged again, Percy drove its own horn into its stomach, but was horrified when it didn't dissolve. It hadn't been a killing blow.

The Minotaur roared in agony, and Percy tried to run, but it was too quick. It speared Percy through the stomach in the exact spot Annabeth had been stabbed when she took a knife for Percy: a nonfatal one. The Minotaur bellowed in victory before charging up the hill towards the others.

Percy needed to save them, because he really really didn't want to kill himself again. He spent a long time alive this time, and he was not looking forward to doing it again. Unfortunately for him, he knew he was fading fast. If he moved to save them, he'd be dead, so there was no point in moving. Either way, he was going to have to restart.

That is, he thought he would. As fate would have it, Nancy wasn't just a thief. She was a thief who had a serious thing for Percy.

She wrestled her way out of Argus's arm, and ran at the Minotaur. It reminded Percy of when he thought his mom had been killed. He had felt invincible, rage fueling his strength.

It happened that Nancy did nearly the same thing as Percy had the first time. As it charged, she used its leg as a springboard to jump up to its head, and eventually managed to rip its other horn off before she fell off herself.

So it was that the horn that had stabbed Percy in the stomach also stabbed the Minotaur in the stomach, but this time, the Minotaur died.

She rushed over to Percy, who wasn't dead, but was dying. This time, however, Argus was here, and Argus had something Percy hadn't had any of the other times he'd fought this fight: ambrosia. The many-eyed guardian of camp shoved a square in Percy's mouth without a word, and the bleeding slowly came to a stop. Percy had a chance to live. He closed his eyes, and passed out.

When he woke up, he was in the infirmary, with a child of Apollo standing over him: Lee Fletcher. Another person whose life he would save, if he had his way. But Percy needed to get stronger. He wouldn't allow a failure like this to happen ever again. If he had aimed a little higher, this wouldn't have happened. Percy was upset with himself.

Rule 5: Don't lose a fight you've won before.

 **There ya go!**

 **I hope you've had a good read. He finally got to camp Halfblood! Yaaay! Plot progression! And it only took 14000 words to do it!**

 **I'd like to point out that just because he and Nancy are friends doesn't mean that he likes her romantically or that they'll start dating, nor does it mean they won't. It means that I'm giving Nancy a chance. I know some of you won't like the Nancy-centricness of this chapter, but if you don't... get used to disappointment. I think we all know who Percy is choosing for his questmates.**

 **The pairing IS still undecided, but Nancy WILL be in this story, for now at least. If everyone hates her, then she might not stick around, but for right now she's in.**

 **Anyways, sayonara!**


	3. Percy's Body Odor Is Deadly

**Thanks so much for the support once again! I'm proud to announce that the retention rate for this story is pretty crazy. Around 64% last I checked, which is to say, 64% of people who clicked on the story made it to the second chapter. That's a crazy amount for me. For comparison, my other main story, Guardian of Sanity, has about a 30% retention rate, which isn't even that bad. Thank you to everyone who's followed, everyone who's favorited, and especially everyone who's reviewed! It really does mean a lot, so if you can, please do review, even if it's just to say "good." And I mean for every story, not just this one. It's a good practice.**

 **Quick note, this will not be a Percabeth story because in this universe, Annabeth confessed her love for Luke in the throne room before Percy died the first time. If you missed that, I'm afraid that one is on you, because he very clearly has that flashback, early in the very first chapter. Remember, the pairing is still undecided. Once it is, it won't say it in the summary anymore, so know that going forward.**

 **Anyways, as a disclaimer, I do not claim ownership of any element of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians franchise, and any verbatim phrasing is either used entirely for effect or is completely coincidental.**

 **As an entirely different disclaimer, the views expressed by Percy are not necessarily the views held by A Samhildanach, particularly those regarding relationships. (Meaning, don't take everything Percy says in this chapter to heart. That's what I think Percy would think, not necessarily what I think. It may be correct, or it may not be. Don't come to this story for quotes to live your life by. Visit my profile for those.**

 **Without further adieu, here is Chapter three!**

Chapter 3: Percy's Body Odor Is Deadly

Lee handed Percy a glass of nectar, and for a fraction of a second, Percy had the odd feeling that he should pour it on his stomach. He knew it was the drink of the gods, so it would heal him if he drank it, but he wanted to seem clueless, so he made to pour it over his wounded stomach, and Lee quickly stopped him.

"Wait! It's not applied topically!"

Percy knew that Lee was telling him not to pour it on himself, but he truthfully didn't know what the word meant, so he responded with a graceful, "Huh?"

"It's nectar, you're supposed to drink it," Fletcher explained.

"Oh. What does topically mean?"

Lee Fletcher sighed at the boy's cluelessness. "If something is applied topically, it means it's supposed to be rubbed into the skin. It's a medical term. Nectar is the drink of the gods, meaning it is for oral use only. I don't know what would happen exactly if you poured it on yourself, but certainly nothing good. Go on and drink it. That much should be safe."

Percy was intent on milking this interaction for all it was worth. "Should be? What would happen if I drank too much?"

Lee looked at him and nonchalantly said, "You'd combust."

Percy looked at him with confusion. He knew what combust meant, but was very good at looking confused. He was confused a lot.

"You'd be consumed by flames. Haven't you ever heard of spontaneous combustion before?"

Percy had, but he wasn't about to let Lee Fletcher know that. He still had a reputation to uphold, however small, and not knowing what combust meant while knowing what spontaneous combustion was would make him seem pretty stupid.

"Just drink the nectar, Percy."

Percy did, and it tasted like his mom's homemade blue cookies. He felt stronger, and better knowing his mom was still safe. But something was nagging at him.

"How'd you know my name was Percy?"

"Nancy told everybody everything about you. She's a serious blabbermouth. And a good person, too. She kept insisting that _you_ were the one who really killed the Minotaur, and that you saved her and Grover. That she had barely helped. As if. She broke _both_ of his horns off, and didn't have a scratch on her. She's one powerful daughter of Hermes. He claimed her as soon as she entered camp."

A lot of this made Percy very confused. There was a lot to digest here. Nancy told everyone about him? What was there to tell? And people thought she was a good person, right off the bat? That was probably the first time that had ever happened in her life. And everyone thought she was _lying_ about him trying to protect her? They thought _she_ broke _both_ horns off? Percy wasn't mad, since she had clearly told them the truth, and she had in fact saved his life, but he was a little peeved at how weak people thought he was. In a way though, it was a blessing in disguise. Annabeth had always been telling him about the Art of War, by Sun Tzu, and the book was about the only thing she spouted off he ever took to heart.

 _When weak, appear strong. When strong, appear weak._

Percy had thought about Annabeth enough over the past few months for it not to hurt that badly, the fact she had crossed his mind once again. He wasn't sure how he'd fare when he saw her in person, however.

At any rate, Percy knew this was his chance to set the record straight. So he set it to his liking. "Yeah, Nancy is always doing stuff like that. She's way too modest. I tried to protect them, but I failed. I let the Minotaur gore me, and Nancy is the only reason I'm still alive."

Percy didn't mention that if he had died, it only would have been a minor setback, or the fact that he had broken off one of the horns himself and stabbed the monster, or that it was only because he had gotten overconfident in his ability to kill the stupid beast that caused him to hit a nonfatal spot, or even the fact that the place Nancy had struck the creature wasn't a fatal strike on its own either, and they had both played an equal role in killing the Minotaur.

No, Percy let everyone believe he was weak. No one would suspect that the son of Poseidon could be so weak, and certainly no one would think that he had more monster fighting experience than almost anyone at camp.

Percy also blamed his loss on the fact that he didn't have Riptide. The blade was a part of himself, and he felt naked without it. Weaker, unprotected. He had just felt _wrong_ for the last few months, when the blade had been in Chiron's possession.

Lee Fletcher spoke. "Speaking of Nancy, she'll want to know you're awake. She's been checking on you all the time. She cares about you a lot. I've yet to see why."

Percy tried not to be offended. Nearly all children of Apollo were cocky and conceited, like their father. Lee was actually one of the less stuck-up among them.

"Wow. Really feeling the love here, buddy. What's your name, anyway?" Percy nearly called Lee by his name, but managed to say 'buddy' at the last second.

"Lee. Lee Fletcher." With that, Lee left the - other than Percy - empty infirmary to get Nancy.

She must have already been headed there, because it hadn't even been ten seconds when she flew through the door and jumped at Percy.

"Percy! You're awake! This place is so cool! There's a climbing wall with lava, there's a lake, there's archery, there's swords, there's everything! It's amazing! Come on Percy, let's go!" Nancy was incredibly excited by the camp, and she wanted Percy to be just as excited. Up until... actually, Percy wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but up until they had gotten to camp, she, Percy, and Grover had been inseparable. She missed him.

"Hold on Nancy, hold on. Just because I'm awake, it doesn't mean I'm healed. How long was I out?" Percy tried to calm Nancy down, but only succeeded with the question, to which Nancy looked, sullen, down at the ground.

"Three days. I'm sorry I couldn't help in time. But if you hadn't told Argus to grab us, we could've fought it together! You big-headed idiot!" She smacked Percy in the chest, safely above his wound, but it still hurt.

"Ouch! I'm sorry Nancy. I was just worried about you. Thanks for saving my life," Percy said, with real gratitude.

"It was nothing," Nancy said, blushing. It clearly wasn't nothing. "I have both horns, but one is yours, so I'll give it to you when you get back to the Hermes cabin. Oh wait, you don't know all about the camp yet! Yes! I'll show you everything!"

 _Great_ , Percy thought. _A tour of the place I've lived at for years._

"Nancy, I don't know if I'm allowed to be walking yet."

At that exact moment, Lee walked in.

"You are. You big wuss."

Percy rolled his eyes, and swung himself out of bed. He was pleased; he wasn't nearly as injured as he'd thought. He was always surprised at how quickly the Apollo campers could heal.

"Yay!" shouted Nancy. She was still only twelve years old. She hadn't thought her mother was dead when she first came to camp, unlike Percy. He imagined he would've had a much better reception to camp if that hadn't happened to him. It really was a wonderful place. He was glad she liked it.

As they walked slowly through camp, he made a mental note of everything he needed to do.

 _Go to the armory to find a sword as close to Riptide as possible, visit Beckendorf at the forge to get fitted for armor, ignore the Athena cabin in its entirety, tell Chiron about the entrance to the Labyrinth at Zeus's-_

He was knocked out of his thoughts when Clarisse reared her ugly head, electric spear on her back.

"Hey Prissy, nice job taking down the Minotaur. Ha!" She laughed, and high-fived with her ugly Ares buddies.

Percy had struck up a sort of truce with the daughter of Ares before he died the first time, but it had taken years. She only respected strength, and even then she resented people stronger than her. Still, that was the only way to earn her respect. Prove how much strength you had. You couldn't win via trickery, or even skill. Only brute force. That was one of the reasons they'd never gotten along. Percy was no strategist, but he certainly relied on skill more than strength. Especially now, when he had skill in endless reserves but was trapped in a twelve year old body.

"Leave him alone!" Nancy shouted. It was odd, seeing her stick up for someone. She should've gotten along famously with Clarisse, since they were both bullies, but Percy had realized a long time ago that Nancy wasn't a true bully, unlike Clarisse. "I told you he really did stab it, I just finished it off!"

Clarisse wasn't impressed. "And I told you there was no way a twig like him could've even snapped off the Minotaur's horn, much less stabbed him with it!"

Nancy was getting angry. Percy knew that when she got angry, things got physical, fast. Nancy wasn't a person who backed down from a fight. She was a lot like a daughter of Ares in that way. Percy wondered if maybe one of her ancestors had been a child of Ares. Was that even possible?

Nancy growled. "Percy, show her."

Percy looked at her, dumbfounded. "Show her!? Show her what!?"

"Don't be a baby, Perce! Fight her! Show her how strong you really are." Nancy never once looked at Percy as she spoke, keeping her eyes trained on Clarisse.

"Listen, I'm glad for the vote of confidence, but I'm unarmed, and she has a spear!" Percy said, dishonestly. He could probably wipe the floor with her, even without Riptide, but he didn't want to give away his true strength.

"Listen, Perce. You're all healed now. You can take her! You nearly killed the Minotaur!" Nancy said reassuringly.

Percy didn't tell her he had actually killed the beast on three separate occasions before that, but he certainly thought it to himself.

"Come on, Prissy, are ya chicken!? If you fight me, right here, right now, I'll even let you skip out on initiation!"

Percy really didn't want to give away his strength. "While the offer is tempting, I choose life."

Clarisse wasn't waiting any longer. She lunged wildly with her electric spear, _Maimer_ , and Percy let his honed battle instincts take over.

As she lunged, he pivoted backwards on his right foot, turning 90 degrees counterclockwise, so he was facing her spear, point to his left and Clarisse to his right. As he did this, he grabbed the shaft of the spear right under the spear head, and pulled vigorously to his left, causing Clarisse to overextend, making her choose between dropping the spear or stumbling forwards. She opted to hold on to the spear, and was pulled directly into Percy's waiting elbow, which he smashed directly in her face, and she crumpled to the ground, clutching her newly broken nose.

The trick wouldn't have worked on an experienced and disciplined spear fighter, nor would it have worked if he'd been armed. If Clarisse hadn't carelessly stabbed past the length of a safe thrust, Percy wouldn't have been able to pull the spear hard enough to make her overextend. Percy had learned the trick fighting with Thalia, who was an expert with her spear, and thus knew of most tricks one could use against someone wielding a spear. It was so she could avoid them. Clarisse clearly hadn't had the same foresight.

Percy was slightly saddened by how it had played out, because he hadn't _wanted_ to hurt her, though he realized how lucky he had been. If it had lasted anymore than the approximately one second that it had, he wouldn't be able to use the beginner's luck excuse.

The Ares kids looked furious, while Nancy grinned sadistically. "I told you he did most of the work in the fight with the Minotaur, Clarisse. I really hate it when people badmouth my friends!"

Percy tried to hold on to his beginner's luck ploy. "Please, Nancy, it must have been beginner's luck or something, let's just go!"

Nancy instantly looked happy, as she turned to Percy and said, "Right, Perce! There's still more of the camp to show you!" She stepped over Clarisse's barely conscious body, and the other Ares kids parted for her, however reluctantly.

Percy quickly followed.

Unfortunately for him, the worst possible person to have noticed that fight had noticed that fight. Annabeth.

Annabeth didn't hide her sneer at Nancy, which Percy found strange. Lee seemed to think she was a wonderful, powerful saint, but Annabeth looked at her like Percy used to. Like she was devil spawn.

"Nancy," she said, disgust barely hidden at all, and Nancy replied with Annabeth's name, in the same tone.

Annabeth's sneer lessened only slightly when she looked at Percy, though Percy had to bite his tongue to keep his pain from showing.

Even though she wasn't the Annabeth he knew, seeing as she was four years younger, she was still one of the Annabeth's he remembered. The one that had nursed him to health the first time.

"Percy," she said, not very happily. "Thanks for knocking Clarisse down a peg. She deserved it. But I couldn't help but notice the move you used to take her down. It seemed incredibly advanced; I've never even seen it before. Looks like this one," she gestured to Nancy, "wasn't lying after all, when she said you were the one who really took down the Minotaur." Annabeth said it like she was conceding something. As if she couldn't possibly deny what she'd said, but still hated the fact that it was true.

Nancy spoke before Percy could think up a lie to explain his mad skillz. "Of course I wasn't lying. I _never_ lie when it comes to Percy. He's just naturally awesome. Once he gets trained, he'll be way better than Luke is!"

Luke? What did Luke have to do with anything? What in the world was going on? Why was Annabeth so mad at Nancy? Why was Nancy mad at Annabeth?

"What's going on, you guys? What are you talking about?"

Both girls responded at the same time. "Shut up, Percy!"

He did.

"There's no way Percy will ever beat Luke, he's the greatest swordsman in three hundred years!"

"Yeah right! Give Percy a sword and he'll knock Luke's lights out any day of the week!"

"I'll do what now!?" Percy knew Luke was much older than him, and probably still a better swordsman, even with Percy's extra experience. But what was happening?

"Shut up, Percy!" Annabeth shouted at him, without looking away from Nancy. "There's no way! Luke's a hundred times cooler than Percy!"

"That's impossible, since Percy is a thousand times cooler than Luke!"

Percy blinked his eyes rapidly a few times. Were they actually fighting over which of their crushes were cooler? That... wasn't possible, was it?

Luckily, Chiron appeared out of nowhere.

"Ladies, please stop bickering! We are all friends, here! Let's put aside our differences, and work together as comrades!" Chiron said admirably, as if he were doing something more important that settling a petty squabble over whose future boyfriend was cooler. Not that Percy intended to become Nancy's boyfriend, or that Luke would be around camp for much longer.

Percy's eyes lit up with joy, half real, for saving him from this argument, and half feigned for appearance's sake. "Mr. Brunner! Sorry, Chiron. I forgot."

"It's quite alright, Percy, my boy. I'm glad to see you're up and about. How about I give you a tour- a sanctioned one, this time.

* * *

Percy didn't enjoy meeting Mr. D any more than he ever had. It went practically the same way. Grover had met up with them, Nancy had had archery practice, and Annabeth left as soon as Nancy did. It seemed Nancy was a natural with a bow. Not quite as skilled as the Hunters or Apollo's children, but skilled nonetheless, though she'd only been practicing for two days, so she wasn't really all that good yet. Percy thought she'd make an excellent assassin.

Percy had woken up on Tuesday. That left Wednesday and Thursday to prepare for capture the flag. Percy had visited the armory after dinner on Tuesday. Dinner had been nice, save for the death glares he had constantly dodged from the Ares cabin. He had always hated sitting alone at the Poseidon table, and even though he had to sit on the Hermes table bench with half his butt hanging off the side, it was worth it to be able to talk to people. He wondered if he should sacrifice food to Poseidon. Surely Poseidon knew Percy was his son, but what would he think if he knew Percy knew he was his father? Percy didn't want to find out, so he sacrificed food to all the gods and goddesses he liked. Hestia, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Persephone, Hermes, Hephaestus, and a few minor gods. After he was done, he realized he only had about half a plate of food left. He ate seconds, thirds, and fourths, but it was still only two plates full.

His visit to the armory was... interesting. He had managed to convince Beckendorf to come with him. He assumed Beckendorf only came because Percy wasn't afraid of him whatsoever. The man had sacrificed his life for the good of the world, and Percy would never be scared of someone who had done that. Also, they were friends the first time around, and Percy sort of forgot they weren't already friends, and forgot to act scared of the huge black boy.

Beckendorf spoke in a deep voice, despite still being a child. "So... why am I here, again? You can just take whatever you want, within reason."

Percy sighed pointedly. "I told you that I wanted a master armorer with me so I'd be best equipped. I don't have any drachmas yet, so I can't pay you to make me anything. This is the next best thing."

Percy hadn't intended to flatter the son of Hephaestus, and he couldn't tell if Beckendorf was indeed flattered or not, because his face remained ever stoic.

"Oh, alright. Take this." He handed Percy a short sword with a leaf shaped blade. "Give this a few swings, and tell me everything you think about it. Be as specific as possible."

Percy, who had essentially only ever used Riptide, was as bad at describing to Beckendorf how the sword felt as he would have been had he done this the first time. He had, of course, gone through something similar with Luke, before his first swordfighting lesson, but a swordsman and an armorer were two very different people. Beckendorf might be able to pull something off.

"Uhh... it feels... weird," Percy said, helpfully.

"Gods above, Percy! You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

Percy felt flustered. "Sorry, sorry! It, umm... the center of balance is too close to the hilt for my taste."

Beckendorf grinned. " _That_ I can work with. Try this one."

A solid hour and a half later, the pair had gone through every single sword and dagger in the entire armory. None worked.

"Well, that's that," Beckendorf said.

"What's what?" Percy replied.

"You're impossible to find a sword for. On my honor as a smith, I cannot allow you to use any of the swords in this armory," Beckendorf said with formality.

"What!? Then what am I supposed to use to defend myself with?"

"Listen, on Friday is something called Capture the Flag. All the cabins make alliances, and it just so happens that the Hermes cabin, which you are a part of, being unclaimed, sorry, undetermined, is allied with the Hephaestus cabin, which I am a part of."

"Okayyy?"

"On one condition, one _very important_ condition, I will forge you a sword to the exact specifications I've taken note of during all this testing, free of monetary charge."

Percy's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yes. And all you have to do is distract the Ares cabin, namely Clarisse, until we win."

"Um... by myself? The whole Ares cabin?"

"Yes, that's correct."

Beckendorf was a lot like his father. Hephaestus had also cut Percy a deal, and one equally impossible to fulfill.

"Will I die?" Percy asked, incredulous.

"I don't think so. Maybe. Well, it's fifty fifty. Have you antagonized Clarisse yet?"

Percy mind immediately flashed back to when he had broken her nose earlier that day. "No, I don't think so... Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that, if she decides she doesn't like you, she might 'forget' about the no maiming rule. And the no killing rule."

"The no killing rule?" Percy licked his lips nervously, putting on a great show.

"Don't worry, Percy! I'll get your armor all fitted up, so you won't have anything to worry about."

Percy pretended to think about the deal. In truth, he was psyched to be able to use a Beckendorf Original. He never had enough money to buy one in his lifetime, plus Beckendorf had died, so he was pretty stoked about getting one for free. It couldn't be as good as Riptide, but it could be damn close. Percy was excited. Fighting off Clarisse was something that was already going to happen, he was fairly sure, and the first time he wasn't using a good sword.

"I accept the terms of the deal. I'll distract the Ares campers long enough for us to win, in return for a Beckendorf original. When'll it be done, do you think?"

Beckendorf was deep in thought. "Tomorrow morning, around 6 ish. Swing by the forge and tell whoever's there, 'Fish don't fry in the kitchen," and they'll show you where the sword is."

Percy didn't ask about the ridiculous password.

"Now, shield or no shield?" Beckendorf asked.

"Better safe than sorry against the Ares cabin. Shield me."

Finding a good shield proved to be a lot easier than finding a good sword. Percy still wasn't overly strong, despite his intense training regimen, so he could only carry a modest sized shield comfortably. It was a round shield, celestial bronze, and was about the size of Percy's torso, which wasn't actually very big, but was about the right size in proportion to him.

"And, now it's time to fit you for armor. Lucky for you, I always keep a spare tape measure with me. Raise your arms."

Beckendorf measured him with the speed of a pro, and then handed him the appropriate armor.

"I'd recommend wearing it everywhere for a few days. To get used to it. It can get pretty heavy, but you'll get stronger to compensate. I'll help you strap in."

Percy walked out of the armory with snazzy gear. He could hardly wait to see what wicked sword Beckendorf would make for him. He was giddy as he walked back to the Hermes cabin.

When Percy reached the cabin, the door flew open and Nancy tackled him to the ground, before getting off, dusting them both off, and helping Percy back up.

"Cool armor, Percy! I was wondering where you went. Tomorrow is your first real day! I'm so excited!"

"Yeah, me too, Nancy. Now, where am I supposed to sleep? I wish I could talk more, but I'm totally beat."

Nancy explained that she'd stolen, er, borrowed, everything he'd need. Apparently she'd managed to keep the space near her sleeping bag clear, despite the fact that there seemed to be absolutely no other space on the entire floor.

"Put your stuff down right here, next to me!"

No matter how long he was friends with Nancy, seeing her so happy and bubbly still weirded him out. Not that he minded. It was actually quite pleasant. Before he died the first time, everything had been pretty dismal. Seeing someone so happy, he couldn't help but feel happy, too.

"You're not going to sleep in that armor, are you?" Nancy asked, incredulously.

Percy grinned sheepishly. "Uhh, I am, actually. Beckendorf told me to wear it for a few days, so that's what I'm gonna do."

The real reason was that Percy wanted to seem like a total doofus, and this was a great way to do it. That, and it was actually really comfortable. It fit perfectly. Beckendorf was awesome. Percy got in his sleeping bag, and barely had enough time to say, "Goodnight, Boba Fett," before he fell asleep. He didn't see her blushing face, or hear her gentle, "Goodnight, Percy."

* * *

Percy headed to the forge at 6 AM sharp, still covered head to toe in bronze armor. He was eager to get his sword and start training his muscles to swing again. It had been a long time, and he hoped he hadn't gotten rusty.

Percy entered the forge, and the first person he saw inside immediately asked, in an unfriendly tone, "What do you want? We're not expecting any classes at this hour. If you don't have business here, then get out.

Percy wondered what he would've done if he'd actually wanted to learn how to smith, but that wasn't what he was here for. He was here for a weapon.

"Uh, fish don't fry in the kitchen!" He stammered out.

The kid, who had just a second earlier been horribly rude, instantly perked up with curiosity.

"Why didn't you say that sooner? So does that mean you're him? The kid who scored a custom sword from Beckendorf for free? I wish I was you, kid." It was weird for him to call Percy a kid, since Percy was actually a couple years older than him.

"Beckendorf's the best weaponsmith we've got. You should've had to pay a fortune," the annoying kid continued. "Anyways, it's right on that table over there. Come again."

Percy went over to the table where the kid pointed, and saw a broken sword, probably waiting to be repaired or something, and a totally awesome one right next to it.

This sword was _cool_. It was gem encrusted on the hilt, and shaped almost exactly like Riptide. It made the broken sword lying next to it look like a strip of scrap metal. Percy picked it up, and gave it a few experimental swings. The balance wasn't as good as Riptide, but what sword was? It was balanced better than any sword he'd ever used, other than Anaklusmos, and about the same length: three foot blade.

He started walking out the door and was about to tell the annoying kid thanks, when the smith noticed him in the corner of his eye and whirled around.

"What in the name of Hephaestus are you doing with that!?" he shouted indignantly.

Percy was very confused. Wasn't this the sword Beckendorf had made for him?

"That's not your sword! That's supposed to be melted down- it's scrap metal. Actually, I need some, give it here."

Percy was very reluctant to do so. It was the only sword that had ever even come close to feeling as good in his hands as Riptide. He wasn't about to hand it over to some punk.

"Don't believe me, do ya? Here, let me show you what I mean." What that, the smith boy grabbed the sword out of Percy's hand, and raised it high over his head.

He brought it down on the anvil he was working at, and it shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.

"What the Hades did you do that for!?" Percy cried.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic, pipsqueak. Any sword Beckendorf forged would have cut the anvil right in two," he said, with a look of annoyance. "Stupid kid doesn't even know when he sees a Beckendorf Original," the kid muttered, as he picked up several of the pieces of the sword, presumably the scrap metal he said he needed.

Percy's mind was reeling. He was sure that Riptide would have cut the anvil in two, but was it even possible for another weapon? After all, Riptide was technically immortal, since it was imbued with the immortal power of Zoe Nightshade, another person he would save, Percy reminded himself.

In any case, Percy walked over to the table that had had the two swords. Was he _really_ saying that the broken sword was forged by Beckendorf specifically for him?

Upon closer inspection, Percy realized his mistake. The sword only looked broken because there was no point. The blade itself was just under two and a half feet long, and it had a slight leaf pattern, but it was asymmetrical, and it looked like the last six inches had been cut off somehow, as it ended abruptly, without tapering in whatsoever. The end, however, was not flat. It was as sharp as the rest of the sword. Percy could tell it was far sharper than any razor. It looked like it might even be sharper than a scalpel. No broken sword would still be so sharp, and it had no signs of wear whatsoever. The grip still had that new leather smell, and there were no nicks or scratches anywhere on the blade.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" the smith called over without looking. "It may look strange, or even broken, to the average swordsman's eye, but any smith worth their salt will be the first to tell you it's a masterpiece. You must have very specific tastes, because I've never seen such an odd one before. Just make sure you hold it right way up. The curve should fit your palm."

Percy looked at it again, and sure enough, the grip was curved slightly, though the pommel was still in line with the blade.

"I can tell you haven't picked it up yet, because you haven't gasped yet. If Beckendorf forged it knowing everything he said he did, then it's perfect."

Percy assumed the kid was exaggerating, so he grabbed the sword and started to say, 'I'm not going to gasp when I pick it up,' but he only managed to say "I'm not-" before he gasped. The sword was balanced _exactly_ like Riptide. It didn't make any sense! How was this freaky looking sword weighted exactly the same as Riptide? They weren't even the same length!

Percy swung it experimentally, and fell in love with it. He obviously preferred Riptide, but only because it was longer and pointier; he could almost believe he was holding Riptide if he closed his eyes. The weight was perfect, and it swung just like Anaklusmos. Even though it was asymmetrical, the center of mass was clearly where it was supposed to be. It was incredible. And Beckendorf had whipped it up in a single night? This guy was amazing.

"So what are you gonna name it?" the kid asked.

"Name it? Does it need a name?"

"DOES IT NEED A NAME!? OF COURSE IT NEEDS A NAME, IT'S A BECKENDORF ORIGINAL!" the boy screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I'll uh, get back to you on that!" Percy shouted back.

"Alright," the boy said at a normal volume. "By the way, since Beckendorf made that, it's likely to be _covered_ in enchantments. I'd strongly suggest doing _exactly_ whatever Beckendorf told you to when he agreed to make the sword. Otherwise, this masterpiece might make your life a living Hades. See ya later!" he said, before shoving Percy outside the forge and closing the doors, leaving him to wonder what kind of enchantment could ruin his life.

"Wait!" Percy called back. He tried to open the doors, but he couldn't. "Does it have scabbard?" Percy asked.

Suddenly, the door opened a few inches, and a scabbard poked out. He grabbed it, and heard a faint, "That should work," before the door slammed closed again. Percy supposed whatever the guy was working on, it was really important.

But Percy finally had a balanced sword again! Haha! It had been _months_ since he had held a sword that felt good in his hands, and it was pure bliss. He swung it around, forgetting that he wasn't supposed to be a master swordsman for a few seconds. He slashed at a Cyclopes that wasn't there, before beheading an invisible empousa, and finally stabbing an imaginary hellhound leaping toward him straight in the gut. He realized that he could still stab with this strange sword, even if there was no tip. It was still wicked sharp, so it would be as effortless as slashing.

Percy brought it down in an overhead chop, an incredibly powerful force, unstoppable and relentless, like a rogue wave.

A rogue wave? Percy knew exactly what they were, but he'd never heard the term before that moment. He was used to knowing things that had to do with the water without learning them first. A rogue wave was defined as a wave over twice as large as the average height of the tallest third of waves in a wave record. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he knew what a rogue wave was. He could imagine images of it, without ever having seen them. A rogue wave had no warning, and wasn't preceded by any overly large waves or followed by any overly large waves. No one really knew for certain how they were formed, but there were many theories. Percy knew it had something to do with Poseidon and his mood. Rogue waves were absolutely enormous, and immensely powerful.

 _Is that what I shall name you, my friend?_ Percy thought as he looked at his new sword. _Rogue Wave?_

Percy knew it was a stupid name. And that's why he would never tell anybody. It was just his sword for now. His incredibly strange sword. Percy almost didn't want to go back to the Hermes cabin. It would get stolen for sure. He never had to worry about Riptide getting stolen, because it would always reappear in his pocket, but this wouldn't fit in his pocket, and he wasn't about to sleep with the thing. It was sharp enough to cut him to pieces if he so much as touched the edge.

Percy decided to get a little morning training in with his Beckendorf Original before the other campers woke up. Beckendorf Original, huh? A BO, he thought, amused. Percy let a soft chuckle escape his lips, before he muttered, "Body Odor."

Suddenly, the sword heated up, not to the point it hurt, but certainly not comfortable, either, and it vibrated noticeably. Then, as quickly as it had happened, it stopped, and the metal cooled to the temperature outside.

Percy instantly knew what had just occurred. He'd just named this wicked awesome sword, "Body Odor."

Percy sighed loudly, and pinched the bridge of his nose with his left hand, like he was an old man and his grandkids were doing something they really ought not.

To no one in particular, he said, "I've been told my BO is enough to kill somebody, but this is just ridiculous."

To his surprise, he heard a faint laugh. He looked around, and saw that Hestia was tending to the fire, not hiding her smile.

He went and talked to her, and said he was very glad she was still tending the hearth. It was an important job, but not one many were willing to do. After a few minutes of talking about nothing in particular, he thanked her once again, but said he needed to train. He said goodbye, almost calling her Hestia, but somehow not doing it.

"Well, Body Odor, it's time to get to work," Percy said to his sword, as he entered the arena.

Body Odor didn't respond. It was not a talking sword. It had just reacted to its name. A name always made something more powerful, and it takes on an aspect of its name. Percy took a good long whiff of its scent. It was subtle, but it did faintly smell like a middle school locker room. Just great, thought Percy.

He started doing exercises, practicing advanced maneuvers, ones that an untrained demigod had no business knowing. Disarming techniques against a scythe wielding maniac that only Percy could see, probing for a weak point that even Percy didn't know. Percy was getting tired. It had been a few hours, and he could hear other campers getting out of their cabins. Percy quickly switched from complex battlefield maneuvers to simple repeated overhand chops and ordinary swipes, not good for anything beyond strength training. Something an untrained demigod wouldn't be looked at twice for. Eventually, the Demeter cabin filed in, along with Luke, the instructor. Percy sheathed his sword, and left before Luke noticed him. He didn't particularly want to talk to the traitor. He had killed all of his friends once. Grover, Thalia, and even Annabeth had fallen to this monster.

Percy had decided that there was no point in try to convince Luke not to turn traitor. It was already done. He'd already stolen the helm and the bolt. Percy had to kill him, but he couldn't before proving that he was actually a traitor. And he couldn't do that until he went on the quest. Percy imagined that he'd be claimed as soon as Luke summoned the hellhound during capture the flag, and then he'd be sent on the quest right after, just like the first time.

* * *

Nancy hadn't realized that Percy didn't have normal training like her, because she had already been claimed, while he hadn't. He knew Poseidon was waiting for him to prove himself. He had to earn respect, just like everyone else. He wouldn't get it just by being a son of Poseidon.

Percy spent the days of Wednesday and Thursday undergoing various tests designed to figure out his parentage, but he knew they wouldn't figure it out. He spent the mornings and nights practicing on his own. By Friday, he could wield Body Odor almost as well as Riptide.

Thursday, however, had been quite a trial. It was swordfighting practice for the Hermes Cabin. He had to pretend to get his butt whooped by Luke, and he didn't want to. He knew he could beat him, since Luke was going easy on him. Although, he hadn't been allowed to use Body Odor, because it was too sharp, so he was using a bad one. Some dull swords could pass for training blades, but there was no way BO was getting mistaken for harmless. He was rather proud of it. It was no Riptide, but it was a close second. Percy was almost sad that he would have to replace it with Riptide shortly. Although, he might just keep both, and use Riptide as a sneak attack weapon. No one would expect his pen was his sword when he had one strapped to his belt already. It was a plan worthy of Athena, so Percy thought.

Nancy was actually upset when he got beaten by Luke, because she was apparently still having a feud with Annabeth, and Luke and Percy were the main players.

"You have to beat him next time, Percy Jackson!" she yelled.

"I'm sorry, Nance, I'm just not strong enough to beat him, yet. He's had way more training."

Nancy was upset, but not unreasonable. "I understand, Percy." She always seemed to lose her anger when he called her Nance, or any nickname, really. She was always just Nancy Bobofit. Percy was the only one who called her Nance, or Boba Fett. Not even Grover called her anything but Nancy.

"Thanks, Nancy. You're the best." Percy often said things like that to Nancy. Originally, it was just to tease her, to make her blush, but it was sort of just what he did now. She still blushed, but it wasn't... funny, it was just... something he liked doing. He enjoyed making her blush. Maybe he was selfish, but he was never able to make Annabeth blush with a small offhand comment like that, and it made him feel good about himself. Now, of course, he knew why he never could make Annabeth blush like Nancy. She never stopped loving Luke. But Nancy definitely did have a thing for him. She had no ulterior motives, because she didn't know she was a demigod when they first met, and didn't know Percy was, either. If she stopped liking him, then it was him that caused it, not because she never liked him. He didn't know exactly how he felt about Nancy, but he definitely enjoyed being around her. She was fearless, strong, independent, she never backed down, and she wasn't stupid, either. Only problem was that she was still a twelve year old girl. That's the kind of thing that can get someone into trouble in the world of Greek gods and monsters: immaturity. It had almost been the death of Percy quite a few times.

One thing Percy knew for sure about Nancy, and that was that if she died, he'd have to start over.

Thursday came and went, and on Friday, everyone seemed abuzz with excitement over CtF. Beckendorf had even sought Percy out just before it started, to remind him of the deal.

"Remember, Percy. Your job is to distract as many of the Ares campers as possible, and make sure you get Clarisse. If you don't hold up your end of the bargain, your sword will be very upset, if you know what I mean," Beckendorf explained, ominously. "By the way, what did you end up naming it? I only ask because I've got a running tally of the coolest names, and you seem a creative sort. There's _Dragon Claw, Phantom Striker, Shieldsplitter, Head-"_

"Body Odor," Percy interrupted with a flat tone.

"Excuse me?" Beckendorf said. He wasn't sure if he'd heard Percy correctly.

"Body Odor. Its name is Body Odor."

For a few seconds, Percy thought Beckendorf would be furious, but he should have known better.

Beckendorf put a huge hand on his shoulder and said, "Haha! Body Odor! I suppose it accepted that name then? Otherwise, no one would call a sword that!"

Percy nodded and said, "Yes, it heated up and started vibrating when I muttered 'Body Odor,' after thinking about it being a Beckendorf Original, a BO."

Beckendorf turned suddenly serious. "Did you say that it heated up and vibrated?"

Percy nodded.

Beckendorf whistled through his teeth. "Wow. That's actually incredibly rare. I was kidding when I said it must have accepted that name, but it really did. The chances of a swordsman finding a blade's one true name are incredibly slim, like once in a hundred years. Can I hold it for a second?"

Percy obliged. Beckendorf held the sword up to his nose quickly, and then returned the blade to Percy with great haste.

When Percy grabbed on to the handle again, he noticed that it was incredibly hot. Burning in fact, just for a second, before it cooled down.

"Ouch, ouch ouch," Beckendorf said, hopping around while clutching his hand, which looked a little ridiculous, given his size. "Yeah, it definitely smelled like BO. It took on an aspect of its name."

"Why are you jumping around?" Percy asked, actually confused for once.

"Well, you see, when someone other than a sword's true owner holds a sword that has found its true owner, the sword tends not to like it. Sometimes it might shock the person holding it, or sometimes it'll do what yours does: get really really hot. That thing burned me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry! I should have just held it up to your nose."

"Yeah, that would've made more sense. Wish I'd thought of it before my hand got burned off. Anyways, I'd really appreciate it if you distracted the Ares cabin, but the truth is, since you are the true owner of that sword, it can no longer hurt you."

"What?" Percy asked. Was he the true owner of Riptide? Would it not hurt him? Whatever that means? No, Percy had definitely slit his throat with Riptide before. Maybe... Maybe Riptide wasn't his because Zoe didn't give it to him? She was its true owner. She would have to accept that the sword belonged to him before it was his. That's what Percy thought. What he hoped, at any rate.

"I'm saying that Body Odor cannot harm you in any way. If you don't believe me, touch the blade."

Percy was reluctant, but he trusted Beck. He touched the edge of the blade with his left ring finger: the one least important to a right handed fighter.

To his surprise, it felt smooth. He knew it was sharp as a scalpel, but it felt like he was running his finger along the flat of the blade, not the edge.

"Holy Hera," Percy said softly.

"But you still have to be careful. If you accidentally hit yourself with it, it still might break bones. It's just not sharp to you," Beckendorf explained further.

Percy felt amazed. How had he come to possess such a weapon? It had cost him nothing, and Beckendorf had just told him he really didn't have to do anything for it, either (though he was certainly planning on honoring their arrangement). He didn't deserve this. Riptide at least was a gift from his father, pretty much the only thing his father ever really gave him, so he figured he was owed it, but _this_ sword? What had he done this lifetime to warrant a sword like this?

Percy didn't have time to think about it when Luke jogged next to him.

"Hey, Percy! Beckendorf explained your job, yeah? You'll be by the creek, running back and forth, finding and distracting the Ares Cabin. They'll be out for blood after what you did to Clarisse, nice work by the way, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them. And, with a sword from Beckendorf, I know you'll be twice as good as when we sparred with training blades. Good luck! Try not to die!" Luke shouted as he jogged off.

Percy was used to Luke talking to him. Nancy stayed away from the guy, and Annabeth avoided Percy, but Luke didn't seem to mind him. The rivalry between Annabeth and Nancy didn't affect him and Luke. It was strange, to Percy. Percy knew full well he'd never get a better chance to lop the guy's head off, but Kronos would just find a different host. He wouldn't be doing anything but getting _himself_ branded as a traitor if he killed Luke now. And the worst thing he could do was get locked up. If couldn't die, he couldn't start over.

Percy knew that he would not only fight the Ares cabin, but also a hellhound. He had fought hellhounds before, but it was never easy. He could do it, especially if he was in the water when it happened, but he wasn't looking forward to it.

Before Percy knew it, he was at the creek and the Conch horn had blown. The game was afoot.

"Hey, big ugly Ares kids! Your dad can't fight for Hades!" Percy yelled. The entire Ares cabin surrounded him instantly, all twelve of them.

Percy gulped. There had only been five, including Clarisse, last time. He stepped into the water, and instantly felt much more confident.

Clarisse yelled, "Leave him to me! This kid's dead meat!"

 _Sorry to disappoint, Clarisse, but in the water, I'm unbeatable. I'm getting claimed after this, so I can go crazy,_ Percy thought to himself.

Clarisse charged into the creek, jabbing with her spear. Percy merely sidestepped and chopped down hard with Body Odor, cutting _Maimer_ in two pieces, electricity discharging into the open air harmlessly.

Clarisse dropped her now broken spear and drew her sword. "ATTACK!" she screamed, but only three people in the cabin actually moved closer. Just like their father, they were cowards.

Percy could feel their movements in the water, so it seemed like he had eyes in the back of his head. He blocked Clarisse's sword with Body Odor, while simultaneously smashing a guy's face in with his shield without looking behind him. Percy brought Body Odor down on another one's wooden shield, cutting it right in half. Percy made sure only to cut with the very tip, so he didn't maim the guy's arm behind the shield. As he did this, he turned to avoid another wild strike from Clarisse's sword. She was clearly better with her spear. More guys started charging in, angry at Percy for taking out their siblings, but reluctantly, as they were fairly sure they would get creamed.

It only lasted a few minutes. Every single member of the Ares cabin was lying in the creek, incapacitated. Percy had broken Clarisse's nose a second time, by bashing her face in with his shield. Clarisse didn't have a shield, being primarily a two handed spear fighter, and it is incredibly easy to beat someone with a single one handed weapon when you have a main hand weapon and an offhand one.

Not long after, the conch had blown again, signaling victory for the Athena team, the one Percy was on. It was relatively easy to win when the main cabin of the opposing team was lying unconscious in the creek.

Soon, the entire camp had gathered around Percy, and Nancy was in the creek, holding on to Percy. Percy, though he had beaten an entire cabin singlehandedly, was, surprisingly, covered in scrapes and bruised, though they were healing.

"Hahaha!" Nancy laughed maniacally. She looked at Annabeth and said, "I told you Percy was awesome! Way cooler than Luke!"

Percy didn't have time to say that Luke would have been able to do it too, and with four less personal injuries, because a howl cut through the forest.

Everyone grew silent.

Chiron shouted for his bow in ancient Greek, before someone shouted, "Hellhound!"

"Nancy, behind me, now."

Nancy knew better than to argue when Percy spoke in the tone he did. He was dead serious, and wasn't taking 'no' for an answer.

The hound appeared, the size of a rhino, and no one moved, save Percy.

He let out a battle cry and charged the beast. If he hadn't been in the creek, he wouldn't have even had the energy to stand, much less charge a hellhound. Lucky for him, he _was_ in the creek.

The hound pounced, but Percy knew what he was doing. He brought Body Odor down on the beast's skull, cutting it straight in two, the blade tearing through the dog like a white hot spike through lead. This sword was nearly Riptide's equal. If only it were longer. Percy continually wondered why Body Odor was shorter than Anaklusmos, if they were weighted precisely the same. But that was only in the back of his mind.

The hellhound disintegrated.

"Well, I have been told my Body Odor is deadly before. I guess they weren't kidding," Percy joked sheepishly.

Everyone gasped at the same time. Percy didn't think the joke was _that_ bad. Then Percy looked up at his head, to see a glowing trident right above it, and it made sense.

Everyone bowed, and Chiron told them to hail, and son of the earthshaker, blah blah blah. Percy had heard it all before.

* * *

Percy moved to the Poseidon cabin, though Nancy was yelling and screaming as he did it, clearly not wanting to Percy to leave. He had taken his Minotaur horn with him, and hung it on the wall.

Everything went about the same up until he visited the Oracle.

The image was the same; the Oracle spoke through each member of Gabe's poker party crew. However, the actual prophecy had a few key differences.

 _You shall go west, and kill the god who has turned,_

 _You shall steal what was stolen, and see it safely returned,_

 _You shall be betrayed by one who calls you 'friend,'_

 _And what matters most saves itself, in the end._

Percy gulped at the implications of the prophecy being different. He couldn't escape his fate, whatever it may be.

He steeled his nerves. Maybe he wouldn't be able to change fate.

But he could damn well try.

* * *

 **So, how was that? Tell me in a review! Remember, Nancy and he might not end up together, so be sure to leave a review with your suggestions for the pairing. I've seen mostly Nancy and Thalia, but I'm open to anything other than Percabeth (nothing against it, but this is an AU, remember). Let your voice be heard!**

 **Notes/Clarification:**

 **Percy isn't going to be any more OP than he should. He has the skill of someone who's sixteen, and he's basically invincible in the water, so that's how he beat 12 enemies at the same time.**

 **Percy isn't going to make anyone fade, kill isn't necessarily literal.**

 **This still isn't PercyxNancy.**

 **That was an accurate definition of rogue waves, which are 100% real, and can reach unimaginable heights of over 100 feet, and pose a significant (though incredibly rare) threat to any seagoing vessel.**

 **Percy will absolutely still use Anaklusmos, but I'm debating whether or not he'll use Body Odor as an offhand weapon, instead of a shield, and have Tyson's shield watch as a back up plan.**

 **If you want to know anything else, leave it in a review or PM me, and, if it isn't something that will be explained later in the story, I will explain it to you in a PM.**

 **If you liked it, or didn't like it, please for the love of the gods say _why_. I hate not knowing why people think it's good, or why they think it isn't (though no one has said that yet). Though, if you don't know why specifically, don't let that stop you from leaving a review anyways. I don't think this chapter was my strongest, because nothing really happens in it; it's the first chapter where he doesn't die. I can fit in a lot more jokes when more things actually happen. Luckily, the quest is next chapter, so get ready for one heck of a ride!**

 **Also, don't expect chapters to be this long all the time. I pick a point at which I will finish the chapter, and so the word count is, to me, irrelevant. The next chapter might only be 4k, for example, though I very much doubt it. Anyways, leave a review, pretty please! For me? Lol, leave one or not, if you like it, that's honestly enough for me. I just won't know if you like it unless you review or fav or follow.**

 **Note: so close to 10k. Uggh!**

 **Sayonara!**


	4. Percy Is a Jerk Twice

**Lol as of writing this A/N I have 69 followers. Heheheh. It's a sex thing... Heheheheh. Anyways, You may notice that the phrase pairings undecided no longer is in the summary... well just because I decided them doesn't mean they're together yet.**

 ***DAMMIT now it's 70 follows... BUT IT'S 42 FAVS, ANSWER TO THE ULTIMATE QUESTION OF LIFE THE UNIVERSE AND EVERYTHING AMIRITE yes I am rite**

 *** now it's not either... bummer. Didn't write it fast enough.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't claim ownership over any of the characters or settings in the following work of fiction, adapted from Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

* * *

Percy thought about the prophecy before going downstairs.

He would he kill Ares? What did that even mean? How can you kill a god? Wouldn't that make the gods think Percy too powerful to keep alive?

How would he steal the bolt, if he was going to get it from Ares anyways? Maybe he was supposed to steal the Helm of Darkness? But if he killed Ares, wouldn't it be his anyways? Well, this line was a bit easier to figure out than the first, anyways. If he somehow killed Ares, and didn't make him agree to the terms of a duel first, then the Helm wouldn't _technically_ be his to take. And it was quite easy to steal from dead men, that much was clear.

The third line hadn't really changed much, and the fourth line seemed even better than before. It openly told him what he already knew. Thanks, Oracle, old buddy!

Percy decided he'd do what he normally did when he wasn't sure what to do: the exact same thing as the first time.

When he exited the Big House, Chiron, Grover, and, surprisingly, Nancy were all gathered around the steps. Nancy hadn't been there when he'd first gone up, so he was a little surprised. Why was Chiron letting Nancy hear the prophecy? Grover was essentially already chosen to be his questmate, as the council of cloven buttfaces or whatever they were called had ruled that Grover's mission wasn't complete: he would need to accompany Percy on his quest, and if they both came back alive, then he would be allowed a searcher's license. Percy knew that Grover was destined be the one to find Pan, although Pan would _actually_ die as soon as they met, so he _needed_ that license. But that was a thought for another time.

Chiron spoke before Percy could. "Nancy here has already volunteered to accompany you on your quest, regardless of the prophecy you received. I felt she should be allowed to hear it, at least, before you choose your questmates. Annabeth is also probably around here somewhere, invisible, clearly not realizing I'd allow her to be here if she'd simply asked. She volunteered as well."

Annabeth shimmered into existence, Yankees cap in hand, blushing slightly, embarrassed. "I only did it so maybe I'd get to leave camp for once. Fight real monsters."

Percy felt bad, because there was no way he was letting Annabeth come with him on this quest. He felt horrible whenever she was around; they wouldn't last five seconds in a fight where they had to cooperate. But she was still a person. He didn't like making anyone feel bad.

Percy also decided that he was going to tell Annabeth, and the rest of the gang, the whole prophecy. Not this one, but the original. Maybe she wouldn't feel so bad about him not picking her. Not that she liked him much anyways, especially not now that she knew he was a son of the sea god.

Percy took a shaky breath before he relayed the original prophecy (which he thought was a nice touch),

" _You shall go West and face the god who has turned,_

 _You shall find what was stolen and see it safely returned,_

 _You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend,_

 _And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."_

" _Now_ are you so eager to help?" Percy said, questioning.

Grover spoke up before the scene got too tense, in a fake cheerful sort of way. "Well, those first two lines seem pretty great!"

Chiron looked far away, his eyes sad. No prophecy was ever good news.

Grover was desperately trying to keep it together.

Nancy was dumbfounded, too shocked to speak.

Annabeth looked analytical, as usual, and it was her that spoke next. "But the last two lines are abysmal."

She shook her head, before continuing, "Listen, Percy, I won't betray-"

Percy cut her off. "Don't worry about it. You don't call me a friend. It doesn't apply to you."

Nancy couldn't speak. It was like the weight of the world was crushing down on her. How could she possibly convince Percy she would never betray him? And he was going to fail? What kind of a prophecy was this?

"Listen, Percy, my boy, prophecies' true meanings are often not known until the end of the quest. They're never straight. There is almost always a double meaning," Chiron tried to comfort.

But Percy didn't need comfort. He knew exactly what he was doing. "Grover, Nancy, pack up your stuff. We've got a quest to go on."

Nancy was still dumbfounded, but this time it was happier. She couldn't believe he'd picked her. He was already an amazing fighter, and what was she good at? Wouldn't Annabeth have been the smarter pick? There was no way _she_ would betray him. Nancy obviously knew she wouldn't betray Percy, but she could never convince him of that. So she didn't try.

Annabeth was outraged. "What!? You're choosing _her_ over me? I have five years of experience, and I can't betray you!"

Percy didn't care for prideful Annabeth. "But isn't that a logical fallacy, daughter of Athena? Just because the prophecy says someone who calls me a friend _will_ betray me, that doesn't guarantee that someone who _doesn't_ call me a friend _won't_."

That shut her up. Percy had learned a thing or two from Annabeth, and it wasn't just The Art of War.

Percy continued, "And besides, Nancy didn't even try to convince me that she wouldn't betray me. She wanted to go on this quest because she wanted to stay with me and Grover, and everyone knows it. If she was going to betray me, she would've been the first person to tell me she would _never_ betray me. Kind of like you, daughter of wisdom. It's something you would have realized if you didn't let your pride get in the way of rational thinking!"

Percy hadn't really meant to unload on the poor girl, she was just a prideful, lovesick fool who wanted to see the world. But she had also led him on for four straight years, whether she knew it or not, and she definitely did, since she freaking kissed him one time! Just thinking about it made Percy's blood boil. Was he just not good enough for her?

He grabbed Nancy's shoulder, and told Grover to follow, and the three left to gather their things together. But before he left, he let his anger take control, enough for one last retort for the stunned Annabeth.

"Besides, the prophecy said one who _calls_ me a friend. Not someone who _is_ my friend."

He could hear Annabeth's scoff in the distance, because his statement operated under the same false pretense that hers had: that just because the prophecy said someone would do something, it doesn't mean someone else couldn't do it, too.

Percy realized in his haste and anger that he had forgotten he wasn't supposed to know that Hades was in the West. He turned about face and walked sheepishly back, followed by Grover and Nancy.

"Ummm, Chiron, who exactly is the god in the West we're supposed to be looking for?"

Chiron, who had stayed out of the debacle, looked pleased that Percy had come to his senses.

"Just, think, Percy. Which god would stand to gain from a war, one that weakened both Zeus and Poseidon?"

Percy couldn't resist telling him the true answer. "Somebody who likes war?" he pretended to guess, cluelessly.

Annabeth put her hand on her forehead and slid it down across her face. She could hardly believe his stupidity.

Chiron was less obvious, but it was clear he had hoped the boy was not as foolish as he was appearing to be. What had happened to talking about logical fallacies? "Er, perhaps, but it is far more likely someone who wants to seize control. Someone who would gain strength with more dead mortals. Someone who holds a grudge, who has been unhappy ever since his lot was drawn thousands of years ago."

"You mean Hades?"

"That seems to be the only safe guess, yes."

The rest of the conversation went just about the same, with the exception that Percy managed to convince the centaur to let them leave the next morning, rather than that afternoon. They had two and a half months, after all, until the summer solstice deadline.

As fate would have it, Percy dreamed for the first time, other than the times Kronos had called to him, which hadn't been too often. At any rate, he was very surprised when he dreamed of Hades' throne room.

Hades sat on his throne, contentedly grinning. "Young demigod. Before you leave on your little quest, I have a... little proposition for you."

Percy wondered absently about what he was going to say. This hadn't happened before, but he doubted it was something he needed to worry about.

Hades waved his hand, and his mother appeared in a flash of light, trapped in a shower of gold, with a terrified look on her face. Hades had captured her after all.

"Hahaha! If you want to see your mother alive again, you'd better return what you stole!" Hades' look turned from amused to furious at the end of his sentence. He really wanted his helm back.

And just like that, the dream was gone.

Percy was actually glad, strange as it sounded. If this was like last time, she was actually safer with the lord of the dead than with Gabe Ugliano. Percy could barely admit it to himself, but he was very very glad she'd been captured. He just had to make sure he convinced Hades not to kill her, and he'd be home free.

Before the three left, Chiron gave Percy and Nancy two canteens filled with nectar, and a bag filled with ambrosia. Percy knew that they needed to keep those in different places: their backpacks, their pockets, anywhere. They didn't want to lose all their ambrosia at lunch. The camp store loaned Percy twenty drachmas and a hundred bucks, both of which Nancy eyed greedily. Percy wasn't surprised. He knew her fatal flaw was avarice. Intense, unrelenting greed. If she wanted something, she would take it, no matter whose it was. Percy decided he'd let her carry the money. She'd steal it from him before the day was through anyways, Percy was sure.

For a weapon, Grover brought only his reed pipes and Nancy brought a bow, slung across her chest, which was slightly odd, and 24 celestial bronze tipped arrows, as well as a dagger, in case something got too close. Neither wore armor. Percy did. He wore the set that Beckendorf had put him in, as he had actually taken to wearing it all the time. He felt a little unprotected without the curse of the Styx, so it made him feel a small bit better.

Percy bore no shield. He kept Body Odor strapped to his waist, sheathed on his left. This would lead enemies to believe that it was his main weapon, if they assumed he was right handed. What they wouldn't know, however, is that Percy had two swords. Or, he would once Chiron gave it to him. Percy had practiced drawing his sword with his left hand from the scabbard on the left, which is quite difficult to do quickly. It involved drawing it straight out, flipping it 180 degrees, while simultaneously rotating it 180 degrees as well, so that the handle was in the correct direction. That was another flaw with Body Odor. While it was double edged, it mattered if you held it right side up or upside down. Riptide didn't suffer from the same problem. Percy, in addition to practicing drawing it, practiced using it with his left hand, more than his right actually. In a tough fight, one he'd need Riptide for, he would only rely on what he knew how to do with Body Odor in his left hand. Percy had never fought with two swords before, but it couldn't hurt to try, right? He had survived this quest last time with Riptide alone, and with no shield. He was better equipped than ever, and there was no slight greater to a smith than accepting his work and then abandoning it when the going gets rough. Body Odor had served him well, better than any shield, and he would repay his debt to the sword, even if fighting with two swords wasn't something you could pick up in four days.

Percy also carried several bottles of water, in case he needed extra healing, or a quick weapon or something. Only, he filled up the bottles with seawater, which was much easier to manipulate, and healed him faster.

Before they left, Luke came up to the group, greeting Percy with a, "Ho, friend! I've got something for you!" and got a scowl from Nancy, but Grover and Percy looked happy to see him, one more sincere than the other.

No one noticed except for Percy. Luke had called him "friend."

After Luke left, and Grover put on the cursed shoes, Chiron finally gave Riptide to Percy, even though Percy already had "a perfectly fine weapon." It was a gift from his father, after all. Chiron was obligated to give it to him.

Percy was elated. He finally had his dear friend back; he had his most prized possession. Like true love and gasoline, it was something you only missed when it was gone. But he finally had it back. The beautiful three foot blade, gold riveted hilt, leather wrapped handle that fit his hand exactly, the perfect balance. Everything you could ever need in a sword. Percy felt like he was in Elysium, maybe even the Isles of the Blessed.

Percy practiced flicking off the cap with one hand a few times, finding that whenever he wished to sheathe the sword, the cap always seemed to be in his left hand somehow. Percy never really thought about it before. He didn't keep the cap in his left hand when he fought, and he never had to look for it after battle, it was always just in his hand when he needed it. Pretty nifty little sword.

* * *

As they were driven to the bus terminal by Argus, Percy got curious about something.

"Nancy, just how much money do you have on you right now?"

Nancy blushed, clearly trying to pretend she hadn't stolen any money from any campers.

"Uhm, just the hundred bucks and twenty drachmas you gave me to hold on to, heheh, why do you ask?"

She was blatantly obvious. Percy decided he wouldn't be telling Grover or Nancy his little secret during this quest. They were both terrible liars.

Percy and Grover both glared at Nancy pointedly.

Grover bleated, and Percy asked, "Nancy, please. It's just us and Argus. We know you steal stuff all the time. This could be useful. How much do you have with you right now, other than what I gave you?"

Nancy looked thoughtful for a moment. "Other than what you gave me? On me right now? Hmm..." She counted on her fingers.

"Eight hundred sixty seven dollars and forty cents, and eighty eight drachmas. Wait, hold on... no that's right, eighty eight," she said, completely straight faced.

Percy's and Grover's eyes nearly popped right out of their skulls. How had she gotten so much, so fast!? It was crazy! Even a few of Argus's eyes had widened when he heard the number, and he was never surprised by anything. He'd, er, well, he'd _seen it all_ , so to speak.

"Where on earth are you carrying that much!? That much cash and that many drachmas should be clearly visible on your person!" Percy exclaimed.

Nancy hesitated for half a second, before grinning a wide grin. "A thief never reveals her hiding place."

Grover seemed resigned to the idea she'd never tell them, but Percy didn't come back to life to _not_ know something. He didn't realize it, but he was hungry for knowledge, almost as much as a child of Athena. Not intelligence, mind you, just knowledge, secrets. That sort of thing. It wasn't the most healthy obsession, but it was a small price to pay for immortality.

"I'm not buying that, Nance. I know you're hiding it somewhere. Now, are you gonna tell me, or am I gonna have to tickle it out of you?"

Nancy paled. She was very, very ticklish. Her eyes narrowed. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Percy went to tickle her, one hand headed for her neck, the other for her stomach. He had barely touched her, hadn't even started tickling her yet, actually, when she screamed, "I YIELD!"

Argus's eyes flinched at the volume at which she cried.

Percy decided that maybe her fatal flaw wasn't greed after all. Maybe it was being ridiculously ticklish.

"I... I um..." Nancy was having a hard time talking, so Percy raised his hands again, his fingers wiggling quickly. She caved.

"I stole an enchanted coin purse from the attic of the Big House! It didn't seem like anyone was using it, so I thought I could just take it! It's not like the green snake lady was keeping her loose change in it or anything!"

Percy was about to just chastise her when he realized something she'd said was a little off. A little too... accurate. She'd said "green snake lady." The only way she would've known that would be if the Oracle...

Percy spoke very calmly.

"Nancy, what I'm about to ask is very important. When you went in the attic, did you happen to ask the Oracle a question? One that she answered?"

Nancy paled considerably. She'd received a prophecy. Just great, thought Percy. Another thing he wouldn't know until it came back to bite him in the butt.

"What did she say?" Grover asked.

"None of your business!" Nancy shrieked as she pushed Grover away from her, which pushed her onto Percy.

She blushed profusely, before clearing her throat and collecting her hair behind her head, and saying in an overly calm tone. "It was a personal matter, and I assure you it had nothing to do with this quest."

Percy sighed, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd been doing that a lot, lately. "When was this?"

"Wednesday night. Or, I guess, Thursday morning."

"And you're one hundred percent certain it had absolutely nothing to do with this quest whatsoever?"

Nancy mumbled something inaudible, looking straight at the ground.

"What? I didn't catch that," Percy said.

Nancy looked absolutely frazzled when she yelled, "I SAID, WELL, IT MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH ONE OF THE PEOPLE ON IT!"

Percy covered his ears the second she started yelling, but it was impossible not to hear what she'd said. "Well, was it any good?" he asked her quietly.

She blushed an intense shade of red, her entire face the color of fresh blood. Despite her blush, she kept her tone calm, and even haughty. "You wouldn't know. It doesn't concern you. Hmph."

 _Yeah, because you asked the Oracle about Grover,_ Percy thought to himself. _Oh, Nancy._

Eventually they reached the bus terminal, and Argus let them off on the van, gave Percy a sly wink, and drove off.

Percy knew they were close to his apartment, where Gabe probably hadn't noticed Sally's disappearance yet, and wouldn't until he wanted some bean dip. Percy was getting angry that he couldn't stop Gabe from hitting his mother before now.

Grover could sense his anger towards Gabe, and said, "If it makes you feel better, she married him to keep you safe."

Percy, who had completely forgotten satyrs could read emotions, quickly realized that if he didn't tell Grover and Nancy about his mother's kidnapping right now, it'd be very suspicious.

"Grover, I actually had already figured that out, but thanks for telling me. He is incredibly mortal, and must smell like it, too. I actually nicknamed him Smelly Gabe. I guess that was particularly apt, huh? But there's something else I have to tell you guys."

"What is it?" Nancy said cautiously, but kindly.

"Last night, I had a dream. I was in Hades' throne room, and he told me he had my mom hostage, and showed her to me, frozen in time. If I don't give him what I stole, then he'll kill her."

Percy realized as he was saying it, just how much this would affect. How had he not thought of it before!?

Grover and Nancy were shocked, but for different reasons. Nancy actually figured it out first, which Percy thought was surprising.

Grover spoke first. "But you don't have the bolt! Your mom..." Grover bleated loudly.

Nancy looked sympathetic, but she had her priorities straight. "But... doesn't that mean... that _he_ doesn't have the bolt, either? If he wants you to give it to him, then that must mean he doesn't have it!"

Percy quickly quieted her. "Nancy!" he whisper-shouted. "Not so loud. Not until we know what will happen if the gods find out."

"So, what exactly does this mean?" Grover asked, anxiously. He had already eaten two tin cans out of nervousness, and was starting on a third. Who knew what the mortals saw.

Percy took a breathe, making it shaky, but still determined. "If both Zeus and Hades think I stole the bolt, and _I_ didn't steal the bolt, then it must mean someone is trying to make us _think_ Hades took it."

"But who?" Nancy asked, nervous that they didn't know what they thought they knew.

Grover suddenly spoke up, nervously. "Guys, maybe we shouldn't talk about this here. I smell... bad things. We should keep moving."

"Grover's right. The quest says go west, so we'll go west. Let's go," Percy said in a commanding tone. He was used to rallying the troops, and this skill carried over quite nicely to his two troubled friends.

Not long after, they had boarded the Greyhound that Percy knew the Furies would soon be boarding as well.

When the Kindly Ones got on, all three tensed up.

Nancy spoke. "Is that-"

"It has to be," Percy interrupted. "Kindly Ones. All three of them."

"We're dead," Grover gulped.

"Quit your whining, goat boy. We're heroes. We got this. I won't let them hurt you. Either of you."

Nancy blushed but was still upset. "Percy, we're your friends. We will fight, too. You don't have to kill everything yourself. Remember what happened last time you said you'd protect both of us?" The way she said it, she seemed almost... desperate.

Percy looked sheepish. "Er, yeah. Sorry. Anyways, there's three of us and there's three of them. We know they'll die if you slash them, I assume the same will go for arrows."

Percy seemed to notice Grover. "Oh, and, umm. Well, we'll handle this one. There's not much room for the flying shoes here, but you'll get the next monster, I promise!"

Grover looked like he was about to say that he wouldn't mind _not_ getting the next monster, thank you very much, but the Furies spoke.

"I've got to use the restroom."

"Me, too."

"As do I."

They slowly moved towards the back of the bus, where the three friends sat.

"Not good!" Nancy whispered.

"Let's just see how this plays out. Get out your dagger, Nance. On my signal, stab the nearest one in the chest," Percy whispered back.

"What's the signal?" Nancy asked.

"You'll know it when you see it."

Nancy looked incredulous, but Percy added, "I've always wanted to say that. But seriously, you'll know."

But as Percy looked down the isle, the three Furies all in a line, he changed his mind. He wouldn't put his friends in danger. The furies weren't there to kill him, just get back the Helm. Hades wasn't trying to kill Percy. He just wanted his stuff back. They weren't going to be too hard to kill. Not if he distracted them with what they wanted.

"Actually, never mind. I have a plan. If this works, we won't have to be in much danger. Just trust me. This won't be like last time."

Nancy and Grover both looked like they wanted to argue, but Percy wasn't going to let them.

He stood up in the isle, Body Odor strapped to his waist, armor protecting his torso, thighs, and forearms. He rose to his full height, and in his loudest voice, he spoke.

"Alecto, Megaera, Tisphone. You want me to give you what I took?" It was risky, as whoever spoke could say something about the Helm of Darkness.

The mortals on the bus immediately took notice.

Alecto, who was in front of the other two, being in the aisle, spoke. "Of course. Give to us what you stole, and perhaps you will not suffer eternal torment!"

Percy grinned. Exactly what he wanted. "Well, I haven't stolen anything, but I'll give you what I have." He produced Riptide from his pocket, still in pen form.

"A pen!?" Alecto screeched. "What manner of trickery is this!?"

Percy shook his head. "Trickery isn't a very nice word. I like to think of myself as crafty."

"That matters not! Deliver to us-"

Percy, before she could say anything about the Helm of Darkness, held Riptide straight towards them, and, in one fluid motion, uncapped it and lunged at the Furies, plunging the sword through Alecto, then Megaera, then Tisiphone, all in the same lunge, before any of them even had time to transform. They exploded into dust, one after another.

Percy quickly capped Riptide, and bowed, saying, "And I have made all three old ladies, _disappear_!"

Everyone on the bus was stunned. Percy had no clue what they thought had just happened, and he really didn't want to find out.

"Now that I am done with the trick, please let me and my assistants off the bus right now!"

The bus driver slammed on the brakes. Percy didn't know what the driver thought was going on, but it seemed he was very happy to have Percy off his bus.

Grover and Nancy followed Percy reluctantly off. They were a bit further than where the bus had spun out of control last time.

Once the bus sped off, Nancy slapped Percy in the face.

"What in Hades was that, Percy!"

Percy rubbed his cheek and wanted to get mad, but he couldn't. She was probably justified.

"What did I do wrong, Nancy?" Percy asked gently.

Grover stepped aside. He looked angry, too, but not as much as Nancy.

Nancy grabbed Percy by the straps of his armor, and pulled on him. "You idiot! You could've gotten hurt, or killed!" Nancy seemed less angry, or, rather, closer to tears.

"Nancy, I-"

She shook him roughly, interrupting him. She was crying now.

"What would've happened if you had died, huh? What would me and Grover have done then, huh? Without... without..." Nancy was crying too hard. Percy grabbed her, and held her to him.

"It's okay, Nancy. It's okay. It's all gonna be okay. I'm fine. We're all fine," he said, soothingly, rubbing her back gently.

Nancy was only crying marginally less hard, but she managed a few words. "The Oracle said... she said... someday... I would have... to save..." She started sobbing even harder, making her unable to talk.

"It's okay, Nance. You're gonna be okay. I'm gonna be okay."

She kept crying into his armor, which couldn't have been very comfortable.

"I don't suppose you can walk, can you?" Percy asked, but it was more to himself than to Nancy. She made no indication of hearing him, and kept crying. "No, I suppose not."

Percy hesitated for a second, but decided whatever it was he was considering didn't matter. He was a sucker for a crying girl, anyways. He hoisted her up in the air, carrying her bridal style, his right hand supporting her back and his left hand supporting her legs, while saying, "Upsy-daisie!" Nancy wasn't particularly heavy, so Percy didn't have a problem carrying her, but her bow was annoying him. Why couldn't she have gotten a bow like the hunters have, that shrinks into like a hairpin or something?

"We gotta keep moving, G-man. Sorry I blew our ride. We would've endangered the mortals if we'd stayed on. If they decided we were criminals, we would've had to hurt them to stay alive. Sorry I fought them alone."

Grover looked sympathetic. "It's okay, Perce. I wouldn't have been much help in a fight, anyways. Nancy was a lot more mad than me, and she yelled at you enough for both of us. Let's go."

Percy and Grover walked in silence, save for Nancy's loud, incessant sobbing. It got gradually quieter, but her prophecy had clearly scared the Hades out of her, and this was the first time she was letting it out. There isn't much privacy for an untrained child of Hermes. Her cabin was always crowded, and she couldn't sneak past the Harpies. Well, she probably could, Percy thought, she just wouldn't be able to fight them, and so she wasn't going to risk it.

Eventually she stopped making noise, but when Percy looked down, she was still silently sobbing. It had been about an hour, and Percy knew that there must be something else to it. Something she wasn't telling them. No one cries for an hour. Well, maybe some people do, but Nancy didn't. An hour is a long time.

"Yo, Grover. Let's stop for just a minute. My arms are getting tired."

Percy leaned down to Nancy's ear, and whispered, "Nancy? I'm gonna put you down for a minute. Can you stand?"

She nodded slightly.

Percy put her down, but she latched onto him as soon as he did, wrapping her arms around him, pressing her head to his breastplate. She was only a few inches shorter than him, so she was leaning over slightly. It must have been super uncomfortable, because he was encased in celestial bronze, but she didn't seem to care.

Grover turned away, like he was embarrassed by the show of affection from Nancy.

Percy heard a tiny, heartbroken voice that cut straight to his core.

"Percy?"

Nancy was looking up at him, her face still wet with tears.

When he heard Nancy's voice like this, so soft, so gentle, so full of innocence, it was like everything else left his head completely. At essentially all times, Percy was constantly thinking about what was going to happen next, what he could do differently, how this had happened, how he was going to kill the next monster, and so on, but when he heard Nancy's voice, it was like nothing else existed. This person needed his help. This voice was all that mattered right now.

He almost wasn't thinking at all.

"Yeah?" he replied gently. He couldn't use the same tone as Nancy, because he wasn't in her position, but he made his tone as soft and gentle as he could muster.

"You'll stay with me, right?" Her tone didn't change. It was still almost imperceptible, so quiet that if you were even listening to yourself think while she was talking, you wouldn't be able to hear it. Percy could only hear her voice. The rain stopped making noise, the bugs in the forest were silent, the cars in the distance disappeared, the sound and smell of the Hudson miles away. Nothing else existed but this question.

 _You'll stay with me, right?_

Percy couldn't think of an answer, couldn't think of anything at all. He simply spoke.

"If I ever leave, I will _always_ come back for you, Nancy."

Percy knew he shouldn't make promises like this, not in his position, but it was like he couldn't bring himself to even think about what he was saying. It was what he felt, not a response he concocted to fit the situation.

Nancy looked pleased by this, but she was clearly still a little broken inside. She looked him in the eyes, her teary light brown versus his comforting sea green.

"Will you just... hold me? For a little while?" she said, in the same tone, one that could brook no argument, no debate, no disagreement. She couldn't even muster a blush when she asked him something so embarrassing.

Percy couldn't have denied her request, even if he wanted to, which he didn't. He only wished he wasn't wearing his armor.

He said nothing, just wrapped his arms comfortably around her, sending the silent message that, for the time being, she was right here, and he wasn't letting her go anywhere without him. That he wasn't going anywhere without her.

Percy didn't even realize at that point just how much Nancy meant to him. Maybe he didn't love her, but he _needed_ her to be safe. He couldn't stand it when she was sad. He didn't know what to do when she yelled at him. And he couldn't deny that he _really_ wanted to kiss her.

Unfortunately for Nancy, Percy was also the most oblivious man on the planet. While all of that was true, he hadn't thought any of it consciously. He didn't understand why she made him feel like that. He didn't try to understand.

After a few minutes, Percy wasn't sure how long exactly, Nancy pushed him away from her, no longer crying, face red as a beet.

"Okay! Forward march, men! Onward, towards... um... the west!" Nancy started walking exaggeratedly, barely bending her knees at all, swinging her arms wildly.

Percy and Grover looked at each other and shrugged. They started walking behind her.

Grover spoke first, saying "Alright, now that we're all... mentally present, let's discuss who's really behind this mess."

"Right," Percy started, "if Hades didn't take the bolt, and Poseidon didn't take the bolt, and if we assume Zeus really did lose his bolt, then there's really only a few options that make sense."

"Yeah?" said Nancy.

"Somebody who's always down for a war... or somebody else who wants power. And if we assume it's not a new enemy, then there's only one that makes any sense."

"Who do you think that is, Perce?" Grover asked.

"The one who the gods took power from in the first place," Percy responded solemnly.

Grover stopped dead in his tracks, while Nancy didn't seem to care. "You mean K-"

Percy lunged forward and clamped his hand over Nancy's mouth, startling her a great deal. "Do not speak his name, lest you attract his attention," he said seriously, before taking his hand off of her face. Percy knew firsthand not to mention someone's name if they wished you harm. Usually saying the gods' names was fine, if you used them respectfully, but saying the names of monsters, of evil gods... After four years, Percy was trained not to say the name of someone who wished you harm, because names hold power. A lot of power.

"Sorry. So, do you mean my... great grandfather?"

"Yes, that would be my guess."

"That would be very. very bad," Grover said. "Like, really bad. Maybe he was just... trying to trick you! Into coming to the underworld, so he can kill you!"

"But, Grover, if he knew I didn't have the bolt, then why would he tell me to give it to him in exchange for my mother? Why wouldn't he just tell me to come and get her, or ask for my father's trident or something? There's no way Hades stole the bolt," Percy said with finality.

Nancy spoke up, rather cheerfully for a girl who'd just had a breakdown and was now headed to her likely death, "Well, some god in the west turned traitor. We'll get there, face him, get the Bolt, and go home."

Grover mumbled, "Yeah, and then someone's gonna betray Perce, and Perce will fail to save something-"

"What was that, goat boy?" Nancy asked, accusingly.

"Nothing, nothing."

* * *

Eventually, they reached Auntie Em's, and they were all starving.

Percy decided he'd kill Medusa _after_ she made them cheeseburgers.

"What does that say?" Nancy asked Grover, unable to read the sign.

"Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium," he said, nervously.

"Sounds perfectly normal. Let's go. I'm hungry."

"Nancy!" Grover said. "These statues are... creepy. Their faces are all scared. I smell monsters."

"You're imagining things, Grover," Nancy reassured.

Percy held back a moment, before whispering to Grover, "Oh ye of little faith, G-man. Haven't you figured it out already? Auntie M? Scared statues?"

Grover's eyes widened comically.

"Shh... Let's see if she's gonna make us food before we kill her. I've got this under control. I just wanna see if Nance will figure it out. She's not the best with remembering monsters, and it seems like there's a spell here, too. It's making this place smell irresistible to humans and demigods, but presumably not to satyrs, if you smell monsters. But don't worry, I'll kill 'Auntie Em' before she's a threat," Percy whispered.

Then, in a normal voice Percy said, "Let's go in. I'm starving."

Everything followed the same general procedure as the first time, up until they got to the dining area.

"Children, please, no weapons at the dining table. Allow me to put them somewhere safe. Even orphans must practice good manners," Medusa said, charmingly. Nancy, never one to pass up free anything, especially food when she was starving, instantly obliged. She could just steal her bow back whenever she wanted, anyways, if the woman didn't give it back.

Percy was less inclined to hand over Body Odor, but he still had his secret weapon, so he managed to get over it.

Grover whimpered a lot when that happened.

"Relax, Grover. I'm _sure_ we won't need _those_ weapons at the table."

Grover seemed to loosen just a little, but he was still very tense.

"And your armor, too. That's not proper eating attire."

Percy begged to differ, because he'd been wearing it nonstop since he got it, save for when he showered. He was much more reluctant to let the monster take his armor off, and he could've sworn Nancy looked miffed too, and was blushing a little.

When Medusa came back with the food, and put it on the table, Percy made his move.

He rose, and Medusa looked a little surprised.

"Auntie Em, thank you _so much_ for the food!"

"Of course! Anything for you poor dears." As she spoke, Percy put his hand in his pocket, and gripped Riptide tightly.

"Really, it's so _sweet_ of you to do something like that," Percy said, pouring on the charm like syrup on his pancakes, which is to say, a whole lot. As he spoke, he slowly brought Riptide out of his pocket, and turned ever so slightly to his right while moving his hand behind him, so she wouldn't notice the thing he held in his paw.

She didn't notice. She was busy ogling Percy, who looked _so much_ like Poseidon had, in his 'younger' years.

"Oh, it's really nothing at-"

Her head fell to the ground as her body disintegrated. Percy had swung Anaklusmos while flicking the cap off with his thumb, the sword growing to its full length just before connecting with Medusa's neck.

Medusa didn't even see it coming.

Nancy was outraged for a split second, bolting upright, before she realized the nice woman's body had disintegrated.

"PERCY! WHAT DID YOU- oh. That was a monster. You probably just saved my life again, didn't you?"

"Yeah, that was Medusa. Let's eat up. Her head will still be there when we're finished eating.

"You jerks!" Nancy cried. Percy hadn't been expecting that. "You both knew! You both knew she was a monster and YOU DIDN'T TELL ME!"

Percy knew he was in big trouble. He had legitimately messed up this time. There was no reason to keep it from Nancy. He just wanted to see if she'd notice. That was a trick he might've pulled on Clarisse and felt fine with it, but Nancy was mad, and it made him feel horrible. He had to make her... not mad. He felt like his insides were being stirred thoroughly. He was not a fan.

He put the cap back on Riptide, conveniently back in his hand, and rushed over to Nancy, who slapped him across the face before he managed to lock her in an embrace.

"Owww. Look, Nance, I'm really sorry. I'll be honest. I knew it was Medusa the whole time, and I wanted to see if you'd figure it out on your own, and that was stupid and mean, and I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry," he said, one hundred percent genuine.

Nancy tried to turn away, but it didn't really work, because he was holding her so tightly. This time, he wasn't wearing armor, and it felt... different. She never wanted him to stop holding her, ever. She wished they could stand there, in the dining area of Auntie Em's Garden Gnome Emporium, forever. Then she remembered she was mad at him.

"Let go," she said, incredibly half-heartedly. "No, don't do that. I deserve this... as an apology," she tried to reason, mostly to herself. As if it made a difference to Percy, who wasn't really thinking about anything but how soft Nancy was in his arms.

 _Uhhh, wait, what?_

Nancy was still peeved that he'd hidden the fact that he knew Grover was right and let her be rude to him, and let her make a fool of herself for not realizing it was Medusa. She was _also_ peeved that Percy was sending her so many mixed signals. Here he was, holding her, after he'd carried her in his arms for a mile... Her cheeks heated up, and she was blushing full force. She tended to do that a lot. He was holding her, but he never tried to make a move on her, and it was _infuriating_. Did he like her or not!?

"Most girls would get a kiss if _their_... bgrurrbugahfuhfuhgrahruhruhrrrrr," Nancy mumbled quietly to herself, unintelligible gibberish towards the end.

"What?" Percy said, softly, though he'd heard what she said, save the unintelligible part.

Grover turned away. Medusa was less disgusting than this PDA.

"Nothing..." Nancy grumbled.

Percy started to let her go, but before he let her all the way go, he stopped, suddenly.

Percy didn't know what on earth possessed him to do something so _stupid_ , but he pulled her toward him again and gave Nancy a quick kiss on the cheek, before letting go, grabbing Medusa's head, and walking towards the cash register, cheeseburgers and milkshakes and french fries forgotten on the table, and Nancy standing dazed by herself, not even remembering to blush.

* * *

 **Heh. Heheh. Heheheheh. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEH! I'M MAD WITH POWER!**

 **But how do you know _for sure_ if you have power unless you abuse it?**

 **Hopefully the fluff wasn't unbearable. I tried not to go _too_ overboard. Just the right amount of overboard. I won't know if it's okay until the reviews start coming in anyways, because I've never written anything so fluffy in my life.**

 **Notes/Clarification:**

 **The "voice" Nancy uses that affects Percy a lot towards the end of the chapter is a real thing that I have heard before, and hopefully will hear again... *sighs wistfully* But seriously, I didn't just make up the effects that Percy suffers, so to speak. They might seem over the top but I assure you, that once you truly love someone, the voice you'll hear them use after they stop crying will affect you the same way, no matter what it is that they say. That's my experience anyways.**

 **Percy seems a little too smart at the beginning, but it** ** _is_** **an AU, so who's to say he didn't listen to Annabeth a little more the first time?**

 **Percy gets cool sword, doesn't use it once in the next chapter.**

 **That's all for notes. As always, comment, review, PM, or message me if you have a question and I'll clarify if you were supposed to know the answer already.**

 **Sorry if there are errors in spelling, grammar syntax, stuff like that, I didn't edit this one as thoroughly as the others. I've been busier than usual lately.**

 **Anyways, see you next time. Will they acknowledge what just happened? When will they kiss for real? Will they kiss for real?**

 **Only I know, and _I_ don't even know! HAHAHA!**

 **Also pls review pls pls I am sad sack who need review for foods pls pls**


	5. That's Not Vegetarian

**Sorry for the long absence. I may take a lot of time off, but rest assured, I always come back to writing PJO fanfiction. Eventually.**

 **So, here's this chapter. I'm writing this before it's done, but I'm pretty sure it'll be shorter than normal, so I apologize in advance, although the alternative is that it'll take another week for me to upload.**

 **Please forgive the grammar mistakes and the weird spelling mistakes that I know are there. I've proofread it a lot but I'm more focused on other things at the moment so there's probably lots of like weird things that make no sense. I'll probably re-edit it later once I read it and there's tons of mistakes... oh well. It is what it is.**

* * *

Percy quickly scooped all the cash and drachmas out of the cash register in Medusa's office, taking one of the packing slips he knew he'd find there. This, he was well aware, was incredibly important. He needed to mail Medusa's head to the Olympians, so they would send it to his apartment, where his Mom would use it to petrify Gabe, that son of a bitch. Even while Percy was busy being incredibly embarrassed after pecking Nancy on the cheek, his anger for Gabe cut through to the front of his mind sharper than Body Odor or Riptide ever could. He deserved worse than whatever he was going to get down in the Fields. But, Percy knew he had to put on a show of irreverence, rather than pure hatred. After all, how could he know the gods would send the head back to him? He made sure he had a crooked smirk on his face when he left the office and headed back to his friends.

Nancy was still standing in the same position when Percy came to retrieve the head. Grover was desperately trying not to look at the two of his questmates while he finished off all the linoleum wrapping he could find, even nibbling on the plastic baskets the food came in.

Percy knew he had to dispel the atmosphere of weirdness here, and he wasn't quite sure how. Still, he had to try.

"Come on, guys. It's not that big a deal. It didn't even happen."

The second Nancy's head snapped towards him, with a dark look in her eye, he knew he messed up. Dammit, why did he have to deal with this? He felt weird enough being attracted to a twelve year old, even though, in theory, maybe, he was twelve, too. He didn't also need said twelve year old to start holding a grudge. Especially since she was his best friend.

Percy quickly amended, "Okay, so it did happen. And we'll discuss it later. For right now, we're on a deadline. That, and the longer we stay still, the easier it'll be for more monsters to find us. So let's, _temporarily_ , forget about this. At least 'til we make it back home safe, alright?"

Nancy begrudgingly mumbled, "Yeah, okay." Grover stayed out of it.

Percy decided to get the show on the road. "Okay, so, guys. I've been thinking. Medusa's head is a powerful weapon. The original Perseus used it to petrify some sea monster back in the day, so we know it can turn monsters to stone, and obviously it can turn any mortal. Which means that the only thing it can't do is kill a god."

 _Unfortunately, that's the only thing I really need to do,_ he thought to himself.

"That's great!" Nancy added, already cheerful. She tended to forget about being upset fairly quickly. At least, that's how it seemed to Percy.

"Yeah, it seems like this is the answer to a lot of problems. We should definitely keep it," Grover decided.

But Percy knew he couldn't allow it. His mom needed it. Then again, he could just give it to his mom, once he had her back. And then, once Gabe was gone, the camp could use it in the war! This was an incredibly important find. Why was he so ready to mail it away?

He was about to agree with Grover, when a thought occurred to him. Why hadn't Annabeth suggested using it as a weapon the first time? There had to have been a reason, right? He thought for a few seconds, before he realized what it was.

It was _too_ powerful. Too dangerous. If any demigod even so much as glanced at it, they were dead. Not to mention the regular mortals. In large battles, it would be nearly impossible to coordinate a unified turning away, and once they averted their eyes, if any monsters managed to avoid looking at it, every unit would be vulnerable. It was a huge risk. But, it did give Percy an amazing idea. He'd have to remember it the next time there was a battle he knew was next to impossible to win.

And anyway, a weapon that could kill monsters instantly with no effort whatsoever seemed a whole lot like cheating. Since Percy could just start over, things like dying seemed like less of a factor in decisions like that. Honor was suddenly much more important to him. He had the luxury of honor, now that he was basically immortal.

"Grover, it does seem like it would solve a lot of problems, but it's too risky. If anyone saw, they'd be dead instantly. If a mortal happened to look, they'd be dead. It's just too big of a liability," Percy explained.

"Oh, that does make sense," Nancy said, somewhat disappointed.

"But, if we don't keep it, how do we get rid of it? How can we make sure no one will ever see it?" Grover questioned.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Percy held up the packing slip.

"You're going to mail it? To who?" Nancy asked incredulously. **(back at Camp, Chiron says "To whom" to no one in particular. He is confused by this, but forgets about it soon enough)**

Percy just pointed to the sky.

Nancy's eyes opened wide with surprise before she started laughing. Grover rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. He was used to Percy's antics.

After Percy mailed the head, Nancy was looking a bit worried. "So, where are we going, exactly?"

Percy actually had to think about this. He vaguely remembered something about a poodle who gave them money, or something? It was four years ago, after all. Percy's memory wasn't perfect, okay?

"Uhh, I guess we just keep walking down this road 'til we hit civilization. Then we can get a train to LA. By the way, that's where the Underworld is. DOA recording studios, West Hollywood. I saw it in Medusa's stuff the first time I came in."

Grover spoke up, confused, "But Percy, didn't we agree that Hades didn't have the bolt? Why would we still go there?"

Percy thought for a second. "He might not have the bolt, but he does have my mother. Also, the prophecy says go west. So we'll go west. You still have a bunch of cash, right, Nancy?"

"Yeah..." she said, suspiciously.

"Oh, please, Nance. We have to get there somehow. You've got over eight hundred bucks. Plus, there'll be _plenty_ of mortals to pickpocket on the train. You'll make thousands. Think of all the mortal cash you could steal. It's just a little investment. Come on," Percy goaded. He felt bad, using her fatal flaw against her like this, but it was for their own good. And it's not like he was lying. She probably could steal loads of cash.

Nancy was practically drooling. "That sounds like an _excellent_ idea, Percy. We should definitely take the train. It's not like we could hoof it across the whole country in a few weeks."

Percy snickered when she said 'hoof it,' looking over at Grover, who was looking back, unamused.

Percy spoke up, in a commanding tone. The one he used with his troops in the Battle of Manhattan, or whenever he was ordering troops. "So, let's get a-movin'. Well, forget the apples. Slap some bacon on a biscuit and let's go, we're burnin' daylight!"

"Um, Percy... it's already dark," Nancy tentatively informed him.

"And I'm a vegetarian. You know that," Grover added.

"And what apples? We don't have any apples."

"Yeah, I already ate them all. I'd know if we had any left. I will not forget the apples."

"Yeah!"

"Guys- oh come on, guys, it's from a movie, obviously." Percy grumbled something about John Wayne as he walked towards the door.

When neither of his friends followed, he shouted over his shoulder, "Well, quit standing around, we've got places to be, trains to catch, people to pickpocket, gods to face, and bolts to find! It's not all that late yet. I still got some walk in me. Let's go!"

 _~bric-a-brac~_

* * *

 _~bric-a-brac~_

"Gods, it's like a million a clock, Percy. Can we please stop walking?" Nancy whined.

"Yeah, my legs hurt, too, and they're way stronger than yours," Grover added, or complained, more like.

Percy was about to tell them to stop whining, but realized that he was being kind of a jerk, and they weren't used to high stakes all the time. They weren't really in a war yet. They didn't know for certain Kronos was rising. Nancy barely knew anything about being a demigod. He was used to every second potentially being the difference between life or death. But now, things weren't so dire. They could rest.

"Alright then, let's set up camp. I guess. Let's get off the road a bit."

A few minutes later, Nancy was fast asleep in her sleeping bag.

The place they ended up stopping at was totally trashed. All sorts of litter everywhere. Grover had a look of disappointment and disgust.

Before Grover could say anything, Percy told him, "I think you'll be the first, you know. To come back alive after going to search. I believe in you."

Grover didn't say anything. It was too dark to tell, but Percy thought he might be crying. He didn't ask why.

"For what it's worth, G-man, I'm sorry for what human have done. All the trash, all the destruction. I can't even imagine what the night sky must look like filled with stars. But you'll find Pan. I know you will."

And it was true. Percy did know that Grover would find Pan. Unfortunately, he also knew Pan would die for real, soon after. But, then Grover would take over Pan's old job, so... it all worked out. That is, it would all work out if Kronos was stopped. That was priority number one.

"Thanks, Perce. I'll take first watch. You're a good friend."

Percy dreamt of Kronos. He was standing in a cave, in front of a huge pit, one of the entrances to Tartarus. The Crooked One whispered, ancient and heavy, for him to come toward the pit.

Percy didn't move an inch.

The next day, they headed down the road after eating some snacks they took with them from Medusa's. Eventually, they came to a town, and after asking a few locals, located an Amtrak station.

Percy made sure to get them a train with a layover in St. Louis. He was starting to realize just how important every little detail was. If he had gotten tickets that didn't stop there, he wouldn't fight the Chimera, and he would have no need to jump into the Mississippi River, and the Nereid couldn't tell him to to Santa Monica, so he couldn't get the magic pearls, and he wouldn't be able to get out of the underworld. So, it was a great relief to him when he saw the train to LA stopped in St. Louis.

On the train, Percy was restless. He didn't like sitting still; no demigod did. He felt like he should be fighting, or training, or something, but it would be too suspicious to the mortals.

Speaking of mortal suspicion, Percy realized that people definitely took notice of Body Odor. He don't know what they saw, but it wasn't normal. So, to avoid suspicion, he put BO with the rest of the party's stuff, but people were still looking at him funny. He realized that whatever his armor looked like to them was _also_ suspicious. He kept his helmet off most of the time, but it too was suspicious. It seemed to him like people thought he was dressed in full football **(American)** gear, pads, helmet, and all. Which would be pretty weird. He decided that when he got back, he'd have to convince Beckendorf to enchant his armor to look like a jacket, and a baseball hat, and like, some decorative chains on his belt or something, enchanted to turn into armor when he drew his sword. That would be awesome. The hat would turn into a helmet, the jacket would be the breastplate, and the chains would turn into the leg armor. He wondered how he'd convince Nancy to pay for it.

After what seemed like 30 years to the demigods, they arrived in St. Louis. Grover wanted food, quite desperately it seemed, though that's how it always seemed with Grover, and Percy knew he had to convince them to go to the Arch.

"Come on guys, let's go see the Arch. When are we ever going to get another chance?"

"Will there be an elevator?" Nancy asked, hopefully.

"Umm, yeah, I assume," Percy responded, not without suspicion.

"Perfect," Nancy said. She was clearly planning to steal from tourists, one of her favorite pastimes. No doubt everyone on the train had already found that they brought a lot less cash with them on their trip than they thought.

"I'm guessing you guys aren't going to let me stay here, are you?" Grover inquired, dejectedly.

"Not a chance."

The three left the train and made their way to the arch. It was incredibly boring, until they got to the elevator. Percy recognized Echidna and the Chimera immediately. He knew he had a tough fight ahead. Nancy looked rather upset, because the elevator was very small, and there weren't many targets.

Percy had taken his full armor with him, and when they got to the top, everyone was looking at him like he was a freak. That was his excuse to leave.

Percy made sure that when they were leaving, there was no room in the car for him, so he'd have to fight the Chimera alone.

Speaking of the Chimera, it was starting to growl at him.

Echidna went to talk, but Percy did instead. "Let all the people down, first. They've got nothing to do with this."

Echidna, and even the Chimera, to a certain extent, looked shocked. "You know who we are?" She asked, intrigued.

"Of course. It's pretty obvious. There aren't pets allowed up here, but the guards didn't say a word. And I know for a fact they don't give people Chihuahuas as seeing eye dogs. Plus, I'm a very smelly demigod. I'm certain you're some kind of monster. And, given that there are only a few dog ish cat ish monsters, and Cerberus is tied up in Hades, and I saw the Nemean Lion in the woods a few states back, I'm guessing that the dog is Chimera. Which makes you Echidna, his mother."

Echidna smiled slyly, saying, "Well, well, well. A halfway intelligent demigod who isn't a child of Athena. You're part of a rare lot."

Percy wished he was smart. He just already knew it was the Chimera.

"Chimera, I challenge you to a fight. On the condition that before you attack, all mortals must be out of the arch."

"We accept. Sonny-" she nodded toward the Chimera, and it started to transform, and eventually roared. It took a few minutes for the mortals to notice something was wrong and run down through the emergency exit. Soon, Percy was alone with the monstrous duo.

"Well, aren't you going to attack me, you big ugly mutt!?"

With that, the Chimera lunged, while Percy drew Body Odor and jumped to the side and swiped, managing a small slash on the Chimera's side.

"Very, good, Perseus. Not many have managed to harm the Chimera. Unfortunately for you, he hasn't even gotten started yet!"

Percy took out Riptide with his left hand, and prepared to flick off the cap. He smirked. This time, he was armed with something better than two swords. Knowledge. He knew that because he was the son of Poseidon, he was harder to burn than other mortals. He believed he could withstand the full brunt of a single breath attack, and he could use that time to kill the beast, though he was hoping it would still bite him with its tail. He was actually really banking on that.

He didn't have time to rethink his plan, as the Chimera opened its mouth. Just before the flames came out, Percy lunged as fast as he could, praying to all the gods he could think of that his plan would work.

Then, several things happened at once. Percy flicked off Riptide's cap, got blasted with flame right in the face, stabbed the Chimera through the roof of its mouth, and was bitten right on the neck with the snake tail.

The poison was racing to his heart, much faster this time.

"NOOOOO! My son!" Echidna screamed. With his last breath, Percy cut off her head, sliced through the window, and jumped through it, hoping he guessed right about where the river was.

 _~bric-a-brac~_

* * *

 _~bric-a-brac~_

He woke up somewhere very dark. He groaned. He was back at Yancy.

At least, that's what he thought. He soon realized that it was dark because it was night, and he was definitely in the Mississippi river. He wanted to jump for joy, but he was still quite weak.

He felt terrible. His mouth was dry, and Nancy and Grover were probably worried sick. He wondered where they were for a while, while regaining strength, slowly but surely.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard a voice, faint as could be, whisper, "Santa Monica..." before fading away. He felt terrible for making the Nereid stay in this disgusting river for so long.

Weak as he was, he needed to get moving. He slowly propelled himself to the shore, using his powers even more easily than he could have walked.

He let himself get wet as he emerged from the river, until he was sure no one was looking, and then dried himself. He looked around for Nancy and Grover, but they were nowhere to be seen. Surely they hadn't gone home, had they?

Percy went back to the Amtrak station, but they weren't there. Percy decided he'd find the place closest to the arch that served food. Grover would probably be there.

Lo and behold, when he went to the only place open within a few blocks, a TGI Fridays, he found Nancy and Grover, sitting at a booth, Grover drowning his sorrows in white cheddar broccoli soup, gods know how many he'd had before then, and Nancy too heartbroken to eat, though it looked like she'd had a salad at some point.

Percy walked up and said, "Hey, guys, why are you so sad? Who died?"

Grover looked at him with wide eyes, and Nancy said, without looking up, "You did. We looked forever, but-" at which point she stood up and punched him right in the face. Percy, being too weak to block the punch in time, got knocked out for the second time that day.

He woke up when they splashed water on his face, and he saw Grover standing over him with a grimace on his face. Soon Nancy was practically on top of him, apologizing profusely.

"I'm sorry, I'm so so so so sorry! I was just really mad because you were dead but actually you're alive and-"

"Shut up, Nance," Percy said, sweetly. "I'm fine. But we've got to go. I was in the river, and I heard a voice say, 'Santa Monica.' It's gotta be important, right?"

"You were in the river!? Well, I guess that makes sense. Yeah... I guess it's a good thing we didn't leave without you. We almost got back on the train to LA," Nancy said, remarkably calm. She was probably still in shock, or something.

"Anyways, I guess we've got to get another train to LA, then. That's where Santa Monica is, by the way. Pretty convenient."

Nancy didn't look thrilled about having to buy more tickets, but eventually she relented.

"Well, let's get out of here. Time to get this quest on the road. I'll tell you about what happened after you went down the elevator while we're on the train," Nancy said.

Percy spoke up, "By the way, Grover, cheese broccoli soup usually isn't vegetarian. It uses a chicken base."

 _~bric-a-brac~_

* * *

 _~bric-a-brac~_

They had already boarded the train when Percy realized they needed to stop in Denver. That was where Ares showed up. If Ares didn't give him the bolt, he was screwed. The train was supposed to pass through Denver, but it wasn't scheduled to stop. What in the world was Percy going to do?

It turned out he didn't need to worry. As the train was about to pass the Denver station, there was a violent shake, and the train skipped the tracks. No one was hurt, but they would be delayed by a day while they got the train off the tracks. Or maybe back on the tracks? Percy wasn't quite sure how it worked. He wasn't really paying attention. He was too busy internally celebrating. Though, soon his celebration turned to questioning. Did this mean certain things were destined to happen? But the prophecy was different, which meant he could change the future. Maybe? It was all so confusing. He guessed he'd deal with it when it happened.

They all decided that they'd get something to eat while they talked about what they'd do next. Ares got there like last time, but this time, Percy stayed calm and Nancy turned hotheaded.

"So, you're old seaweed's kid?" Ares asked, gruffly.

"So what if he is? What's that got to do with you?"

"Nancy, just calm down, please," Percy soothed.

"I'll calm down when he stops being a jerk!"

"He hasn't done anything yet, Nancy, just let him talk."

Nancy was about to object, when Ares laughed loudly. "Ah, to be young again."

Percy loudly rolled his eyes. It actually kind of hurt. He wasn't used to doing it so intensely.

"Listen, kids. I need you to do me a little favor."

Nancy spoke before Percy could even think of what to say, "What's in it for us, if we do?"

"Well, I happen to know-"

"Two hundred," Nancy said, flatly.

"Excuse me?" Ares looked bewildered behind his shades.

"We'll do it for two hundred, not a drachma less," Nancy stated authoritatively.

"Kid, you don't even know what I'm asking you to do."

Nancy blushed heavily, but she wasn't backing down. "Doesn't matter. We'll do it for two hundred drachmas."

"That's a lot, kid. Like-"

"Two. Hundred."

"Alright, fine! Zeus above, you're annoying. You're lucky I don't feel like turning you into a fly, little girl. Just go get my shield from the abandoned water park around here somewhere. I'm outta this place."

Ares took off on his hog, and the three heroes shared a look of disgust.

Grover nervously said, "Hey, Nancy. You, uh... you narrowly escaped death just then."

Nancy was quite pale, now that she wasn't under the effect of Ares's magic. "Yeah, I think I'm figuring out that that's kind of what being a demigod is like. Like, all the time."

 _~bric-a-brac~_

* * *

 _~bric-a-brac~_

They made it to the theme park with a few hours left of the sun. Grover showed off by flying over the fence. Nancy was about to suggest they hold down the barbed wire for each other, when Percy unsheathed BO and easily cut a human sized hole in the fence.

"Won't people notice that, Perce?" Grover said, upset that Percy'd rendered his acrobatics a redundant display of showmanship.

"Yep," Percy said, bluntly. "They probably will."

"But-"

"Don't care. Our fingerprints aren't in the system, so we should be fine. I don't really want to waste any time in here. I really don't like Ares. He's like... well, he reminds me of when Nancy wasn't Nance yet."

Nancy looked down at her feet, and opened her mouth to apologize, but Percy spoke first, "Don't apologize, Nancy. You're different now. You're our friend. You've felt bad enough for it, and you're not even the same person, really, so I think you're fine."

Percy didn't like bullies. In fact, he hated bullies. But he also believed anyone could change. Well, almost anyone. He doubted he could convince Luke he was wrong about the gods. But he truly believed that if someone had truly changed, then they shouldn't be punished for who they once were. After they'd proven they were changed. And Nancy had proven that. Even if she was still a sneak thief.

They passed by the souvenir shop with taking anything, which was odd for Nancy, but Percy figured it was because there was no challenge, and it's not like they were being sold, or anything. No value. While their clothes were dirty, they decided that Nancy could just steal them better clothes, anyways. Plus, they'd probably get their clothes dirty again when they got the shield. Percy knew that he could probably get the shield no problem this time, but the other two didn't know that, though they knew it wouldn't be as easy as finding it.

Eventually, they made their way to the X-treme Tunnel of Love, or whatever it was called. Nancy immediately got so embarrassed that she couldn't even look at Percy, and in shielding her eyes, she noticed the Eta on the cupid statues.

"Hey, Percy, there's a Greek letter on this statue. Isn't that odd?"

"Yeah, that's really weird. Stand back, would you?"

"Huh? Why do you-waagh!" She yelped as Percy sliced downwards with Body Odor, splitting the statue in two, almost silently, up until the statue exploded.

No one was hurt, but it gave Nancy quite a shock. When they examined the statue further, they realized what had happened. Inside the statue was a bunch of machinery, and a camera. Percy went around and destroyed every statue, Nancy yelping every time one exploded.

Finally, once they were all destroyed, he made his way into the empty pool. Nancy called down from above, "Wow, this would be awesome for skateboarding! Wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, it'd be pretty sick. Maybe we should try to convince Chiron to build a skate park at camp!" Percy was getting legitimately excited, now. He'd never really had the cash lying around for high end skateboarding equipment, so he didn't miss it in camp. But Camp plus skateboarding? What could be better?

"Yeah, yeah! We could convince him it would like, improve our balance, or something!"

Grover rolled his eyes, preferring simply to listen to the two dorks.

"Yeah, and we could like, sword fight while skating!"

"That would be so awesome!"

Finally, Grover put a stop to this. "Guys, seriously, shouldn't we be getting the shield?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're totally right, Grover, as usual," Percy said.

Percy had stuffed Aphrodite's scarf in his pocket while he and Nancy were conversing, not wanting to risk any... complications of a romantic disposition while on this quest. One was more than enough.

"Hey guys, it looks like this shield is attached to something. I have an idea. I'm going back up."

Percy scrambled up the edge, and cut a wedge out of the rim of the pool. Sure enough, there was Hephaestus tomfoolery inside.

Nancy put it together much faster than Percy expected. "Ares must have set us up. They were going to broadcast us to the gods or something. This trap was supposed to be for Ares and Aphrodite. But they figured it out and so Ares sent us instead. How rude? They are not nice gods."

 _Here comes a distant thunder,_ Percy thought to himself, and soon enough, the distant thunder came, upset they'd figured it out.

Percy, while he knew everything about how the trap would attack, so to speak, wasn't quite sure how to disarm it, so he went for speed instead. He scrambled back down into the pool, grabbed the shield with his right hand, and threw it like a Frisbee towards Nancy and Grover, who caught it without incident. Before many spiders had come out at all, he summoned water from the plumbing, and shot himself back to the rim of the pool, walking as he stepped down, with his hands in his pockets, really showing off.

Nancy and Grover were standing by the edge of the pool perfectly still, with stunned looks on their faces, clearly not used to Percy having water abilities. He didn't manipulate water in public very often, so they were utterly shocked.

"Hey, you guys coming, or not?"

* * *

 **So, yeah, this is me getting back in the swing of things. I'm going somewhere I can't write for a few days, so don't expect a new chapter until, at the soonest, next Monday.**

 **Here are some writing lessons from Sam-sensei:**

 **1\. "How rude" is short for, in the case of Nancy's last of dialogue, "How rude they are?" which may look strange with a question mark, but that is the proper punctuation. It is an exclamation, but it is also technically an inquisitive statement, thus necessitating the use of a question mark to punctuate the sentence.**

 **2\. This is not a cliffhanger. Please stop saying every chapter ending is a cliffhanger (not like in reviews for this story, but in the actual stories other people write, i.e. 'don't be mad at me for this cliffhanger, guys!'). Yes, this chapter ends right after a question, but if I had put another line break there, I could have continued, at a different setting. If the chapter ended as soon as he touched the shield, but we didn't know what was going to happen, and there was a lot of tension as to what the outcome was going to be, then it would be a cliffhanger.**

 **3\. Make sure every line of dialogue is its own paragraph (almost always, there are always exceptions, but if this rule will help you, you don't know how to use the exceptions.)**

 **4\. When you proofread your work before sending it to a beta, wait a few hours or read something else for a while before proofreading. It'll help you forget what you wrote, so your eyes won't skip over as many mistakes. Because we remember what we've written, and our brains tend to ignore things that don't agree with our memory, we often miss simple errors, just because we remember what it's supposed to say. So even if you have a beta, it's common courtesy to clean up your work before sending it (unless you and your beta have talked and you know what each others expectations are of each other, and your beta expects the first draft stuff) I don't have a beta, so I just proofread many many times.**

 **That's the end of class.**

 **I'm sorry it's so short, the story not even being 5k words, but I've always said that I'll end a chapter when I feel it should end. To me, this is much more natural than after they return to Ares, or after that, because... yeah. This chapter could have been 5 or 15 k words, and if it was 15, it'd take me another three weeks. I assume you want it now.**

 **So yeah! I'm back now, and when I inevitably leave again, just remember, I'll always be back, eventually.**


	6. Won't Be Going to Family Game Night, Dad

**Lmao, 'next Monday.'**

* * *

Unlike the first time, Percy understood how important this shield was.

It was a god's symbol, meaning it held immense power.

If Percy hadn't been wielding two swords, he might've asked Nancy for a way to help him steal it, though that would probably be really stupid, so maybe it was for the best.

Percy decided he wouldn't think too hard about the shield. After all, demigods couldn't even use symbols of power except in absolutely extraordinary circumstances, or so Annabeth had told him once.

Well, it wasn't like Percy could think about _anything_ too hard with his two best friends continually sking him questions about his water manipulating abilities.

"When'd you learn how?"

Recently.

"How much can you control at once?"

Enough.

"Can you, like, make water blades to kill monsters with?"

Yes, but my sword works a thousand times better.

"Is it easier to control ocean water than normal water?"

Definitely.

"When did you have time to practice?"

Let a man keep a few of his secrets, would ya?

"Can you turn it into ice or like make it boil and stuff?"

I've honestly never tried. I think I just know instinctively that's not a part of my power, but I guess if I could somehow control it at a molecular level I could raise the temperature by exciting the individual particles, or freeze it by removing energy, in theory.

"How did you know all that science-y stuff?"

I guess I just know stuff about water, like, instinctively.

Nancy and Grover were grilling him until they went back to the restaurant, where Ares was waiting. Percy felt his blood start to boil, but he was used to it at this point.

Nancy was not used to it.

"Hey, battle junkie, we got your stupid shield. Where's the money?"

Ares audibly ground his teeth.

"Real. Impressive. Damn. Brats."

Ares was upset that a few demigods saw through the trap that had gotten him several thousand years ago.

Nancy did not let Percy respond.

"Yeah, well, when there's Greek statues with Greek letters in a place where the Greek gods have been, you'd have to be an absolute fool not to investigate."

As Nancy was talking, Percy spotted something on Ares's motorcycle. But, there's no way he saw that. Right? Even Ares couldn't possibly stupid enough...

No. Ares was definitely stupid enough.

Stupid enough to openly display Hades' Helm of Darkness.

Steal what was stolen.

He had to act.

Even though Percy was quivering in his boots from the implications of this, since he was sure Ares hadn't had the helm last time, he knew this was his chance.

While Nancy finished her sentence, Percy made sure Ares's eyes were glued to her, before telling Grover, "Stall."

"Really, it would take absolutely absurd levels of ignorance and stupidity to fall for a simple trap like that! Hahahaha!"

 _Nancy, I know you mean well, but you're starting to hurt my feelings. Read the mood a little, would you?_

"Nancy, enough," Percy said.

Grover interjected.

"Oh, Ares, glorious lord of war, we humbly beg your forgiveness!" Grover hadn't starting bowing yet, but it was only a matter of time. Percy had total confidence in his friend's abilities.

Percy whispered to Nancy, "We'll distract him. Steal the helmet on his bike. Without it, we're toast."

Nancy couldn't keep the grin off her face. The chance to steal from a god. Would this chance ever arrive again?

"Oh, wondrous Ares, hallowed be thy name, thank you for gracing us with your presence a second time-"

"Shut up, Grover. This guy-he's not worth it."

Ares showed a fury unlike any other to Percy.

Perfect.

Percy could not be harmed without attacking first. He wouldn't be turned into a squirrel or whatever because Ares knows he'll be squashed like a bug by Poseidon if he ever tries. Ares only move was to try to intimidate Percy.

Unfortunately for Ares, compared to the Titan Lord Kronos, the Olympian god of war was about as scary as a five year old with a wooden sword, mad because a grown up kept calling him a kid.

"What did you say to me, punk?"

Good. Ares has totally forgotten about Nancy. What an excellent thief. It was as if she were invisible. Percy had no idea where she was. He couldn't move his eyes to the bike or Ares would know something was up, so he could only keep up the act until Nancy revealed herself.

"I said it isn't worth praising you. Is that a problem?"

"You little punk. You think, just 'cause you're the son of old sea beard, you're hot shit. But you're nothing special, punk."

Percy grinned. "Oh? Why aren't you proving it to me? Aren't you going to cut me down for my insolence?"

Ares was furious. He roared, "I'd be perfectly justified if I did! But I-

Percy roared in return, desperately trying to anger the god while not expressly challenging him to a duel.

"BUT YOU'RE AFRAID OF MY FATHER'S WRATH? OR NO, WHAT YOU'RE REALLY AFRAID OF IS THAT YOU'D LOSE, ISN'T THAT IT?"

"SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE SHIT! I'M WAY TOO GREAT TO FIGHT A TINY WORM LIKE YOURSELF! A MINUSCULE CHANCE OF VICTORY IS THE BARE MINIMUM FOR A FIGHT TO THE DEATH, OTHERWISE IT'S JUST AN EXECUTION!"

"IS THAT SO! SO WHAT YOU'RE TELLING ME IS THAT IF WE FOUGHT, YOU WOULD HAVE NO CHANCE FOR VICTORY!? HOW PITIFUL!"

"AAAAAAAAAH!"

Ares's voice practically exploded, as six huge boars winked into existence.

"DIE, PERCY JACKSON!"

But these six boars did not pose any threat to Percy. Surely, they were powerful adversaries that an ordinary demigod would have trouble dealing with one on one, but this was not one on one, nor was Percy an ordinary demigod.

However, the restriction of not being able to use Riptide was a heavy one. Percy wished he had brought a shield, if only for this situation. However bothersome it would have been to carry it would have been worth it, just for this fight.

But he would not lose.

As Percy gave out a commendable battle roar, he also took out a bottle of seawater he had taken with him, and it suddenly exploded by his command and doused him.

His mind became clear, and time slowed down.

He drew Body Odor, and the one sided slaughter of the god of war's summoned familiars commenced.

They all charged, but Percy was a demigod who was incredibly talented, forged with the training of camp and tempered by large scale battle. Whether it was one boar or six, if he could reach all of them with one slash, their numbers were irrelevant. These beasts tusks could not compete with Riptide or Body Odor, but just in case, Percy intentionally avoided them.

He bent down slightly, and slashed horizontally from left to right, in an attack boosted by the momentum of the boars themselves, as they crashed one by one into his blade.

His sword cleaved through all the beasts in less thank a second. They disintegrated before any of them were in range to stop him.

He saw Nancy grinning maniacally, and knew he was done playing.

Percy attempted to be civil, drawing on Ares clear shock of how easy his sacred animals had been to defeat.

"I withdraw my comments. Ares is truly a force to be reckoned with. Any more of those monstrosities, and I would have been forced to submit."

Ares couldn't believe his ears.

"Just what... are you trying to pull?"

"Nothing. I just came to the realization that these beasts must be only a tiny fraction of your true power. I have no great wish to provoke you."

 _As if. I managed to injure you at the age of twelve with no martial training whatsoever. Even if the ancient laws prohibited you from using your true strength, that's still pathetic. You truly are the most pitiful god, still on the council only because you are the son of Zeus. I remember Annabeth telling me as much. Apparently in the Illiad, Zeus told Ares he was the most hated and most detestable of all the gods. If he wasn't Zeus's son, born to Zeus by Zeus's wife, Hera, then he would have been cast off Olympus long ago. Not to mention, whenever he shows up in any story, it's to be ridiculed. G_ _ _etting caught having an affair, g_ etting trapped in a bronze urn for a year. It's said that if the stepmother of the giants who imprisoned him hadn't felt bad for him, it would have been the end of him then and there. Really, it's almost sad just how pathetic this guy is. Even though he's the god of war, he backed the losing side in the Trojan war. It's just... sad._

"Fine. Take your damn prize. Get out of my sight, you little shit."

Ares dropped a blue backpack to the ground with a heavy _thud_.

"In there's 200 drachmas, and a few other things. What would the other gods say about me if I didn't uphold my bargains?"

With that, he got on his motorcycle and drove away. He was so rattled that he didn't realize the Helm of Darkness was missing. What a fool.

Percy spoke up.

"Guys, not a word until we're somewhere private. He might come back."

Grover was confused, but still awed at how cool Percy was, while Nancy dreamily nodded. Percy had no idea whether it was because she successfully stole a gods symbol of power, or because he had killed the boars so flawlessly.

When they got to the hotel they were saying at for the night, they discussed what had happened in hushed tones, before Percy finally asked whether Nancy had really gotten it.

"Yes, it's right here."

Nancy pulled the Helm out from her bag. It radiated power. It was incredible.

Grover nervously asked, "What... what do we do with it?"

Percy calmly said, "Simple, we give it back to Hades. We explain that Ares stole it, and give it back. He lets us live, he doesn't start a war, and he gives my mom back. Three birds with one stone.

Nancy spoke next. "Then... who has the lightning bolt? And... then, was Ares working for, um, uncle K?"

Percy shook his head. "More like, he's probably too stupid to do that. But it does mean someone else is. Because gods can't take each others' symbols directly, it means a demigod must have done it. Some at camp is traitor. Someone gave the Helm to Ares, and probably gave the bolt to Hades. I guess we'll trade the Helm for the bolt. We'll make it back with plenty of time to spare.

* * *

So they did that.

They got on the train the next day, went to Santa Monica, got the three pearls and headed to DOA Recording studios.

Percy was upset he couldn't save the animals, but decided it couldn't be helped. He couldn't stop every suffering in the world. Children were being murdered and women were being raped every hour of every day, and Percy wouldn't be able to do anything about it. If Kronos took over, much worse would happen. Ignore the evil around you to prevent the collapse of all humanity. Percy needed to live like this. Of course, he would never ignore evil right in front of him, but he couldn't go seek it out. It pained him, but even before he knew he would lose to Kronos, he still didn't search the world for evil.

At any rate, Percy made it to LA, but he still had no idea where he was going.

Of course, Percy paid a visit to a certain water bed palace.

Somehow, they ended up in the same alley with the same thugs, despite it being several weeks earlier.

The same rich kids playing at gangsters all ganged up on Percy. They weren't at an age yet where they would have been openly lecherous towards Nancy, but the thought of it made him want to beat them into the ground.

So he did.

"Come at me. All of you. What, afraid? Don't be babies. You guys are tough, yeah? Let's see what you got."

As the came forward, Percy used his battle reflexes to dodge every attack while barely moving, and was able to use the same method he hand used against Clarisse earlier to dispatch them.

When the leader stabbed at him with the knife, Percy side stepped it and pulled the boy the direction he was already going, which happened to be directly towards Percy's elbow.

When their leader dropped to the ground, nose obviously broken, unconscious, Percy expected the others to turn tail and run. But they immediately attacked.

"Wow, I'm actually impressed with your loyalty. I won't leave any lasting reminders of this fight as a reward."

Percy's honed combat instincts allowed him to quickly eliminate all of the remaining combatants without breaking a sweat.

Grover and Nancy were yawing by the time it was over.

"Come on, lets go. I'm bored," Nancy said sleepily.

They walked around until they walked by a sign for a place that said, "Crusty's Waterbed Palace."

"Let's go in," Percy said cheerfully.

Nancy and Grover looked at each other but didn't say anything.

A seven foot tall gross guy said, "I'm Crusty!"

Percy said with a smile, "Not anymore!" and Body Odor flew out of its scabbard, lopped off his head (sort of, because of the height difference, the cut was, actually, nevermind, that's gross.), and returned to its sheathe.

As Crusty disintegrated, Nancy asked, "How'd you know he was a monster?"

"Easy. It was the exact same model as with Medusa. A store, titled '[Stupid Name]'s [stupid thing from their myths] [overly grandiose place name], inside of which is an abnormal existence. Crusty and Auntie Em, actually Procrustes and Medusa, Water beds and garden gnomes, palace and emporium. Inside here was a guy seven feet tall named Crusty. In Medusa's place, there was a woman whose entire face was covered up named Auntie Em. The similarities were too abundant."

"Wow. You're really smart, aren't you?"

 _I wish._

"Naw, plus, if you meet someone seven feet tall, it's probably better to take a swing out of the blue anyways. It wouldn't hurt a mortal in the first place. With nothing to lose but everything to gain, can it even be called a gamble?"

When they finally arrived at the entrance to the underworld, Percy didn't even bother trying to pretend they were all dead. He just pulled out 20 drachmas one by one and laid them on the counter. Charon looked at him, and they came to a tacit agreement.

 _"I'll take you over, but don't expect anything else from me."_

 _"I'd never expect anything from you in the first place."_

When they got to Cerberus, Percy went all or nothing. Of course, he had several rubber balls from the waterpark, but he took care of Mrs. O'Leary. He knew big dogs.

Essentially, if you could ignore their teeth and claws and size, they were pretty much like any dog.

Even if Cerberus had orders from Hades, he was still just a big lovable dog. Intelligent, but still a dog.

"Cerberus!" Percy said sternly, exuding an aura of coolness.

Cerberus tilted his middle head.

Instantly, Perseus's coolness aura vanished.

"Who's a goo'boy? Who's a goo'boy? You are, yes you are, Cerberus."

Percy talked like he was speaking to a baby or a puppy, not a giant ferocious three headed monstrosity that could annihilate him in two seconds flat.

Now all three heads were tilted, tough two were tilted right and one was tilted left. It was very cute. Aditionally, it was possible to see his muscles were tensed. Anyone else would have assumed it was about to pounce, but Percy knew Mrs. O'Leary well enough to recognize the position. It indicated he wanted to go act like a puppy and roll around like a good boy, but was still apprehensive. Percy knew just what to do.

"Hades sent me to play with you! So come on! Come on, boy! Come here!" Percy continued to speak as if Cerberus were, in fact, a baby."

Cerberus could no longer take it. He bounded over to Percy with immense speed. Grover and Nancy were certain they were done for, but Percy kept talking the whole time.

"Who's a good boy? Yes you are, yes you are! Such a good boy, ah?"

Cerberus had practically faceplanted in order to get low enough to the ground for Percy to pet hm.

And pet him he did.

For a solid fifteen minutes, all Percy seemed to do was pet the big puppy and scratch him all over while singing his praises.

Cerberus rolled around all over, tongues hanging from his mouths and exposed his stomach to Percy so he could scratch there, too. Cerberus howled in delight.

"Ah, who's a happy dog? You are, yes you are!"

Eventually, Percy told Cerberus to sit, and he did so almost immediately.

"Now, I promise I'll be back. I've got to go see Hades."

Cerberus whined.

"Now, now, I won't be gone forever. I'll be back with some big chew toys for you, how does that sound?"

Cerberus's three heads barked happily in unison, nearly tearing Percy's skin off his body with how loud it was.

"Bye bye, dogling! Keep up the good work!"

As they walked past Cerberus and looked behind, they saw his tail wagging happily.

Percy had felt the backpack get heavier once they reached the underworld. Alright.

As they were walking along silently, Grover's flying shoes started acting up. Percy tackled him to the ground, and ripped the shoes off his hooves.

He set them down, and the started flying away.

"Follow them!" Percy shouted.

They tailed them to the mouth of a cave, and saw them flying into a gaping black hole.

"That's an entrance to Tartarus. You'd think they could at least put up some caution tape, or something."

Nancy put it together instantly.

"Luke set us up. Those shoes were a gift from him. He tried to kill Grover!"

 _So close!_

But why was Nancy able to instantly figure this out when Annabeth hadn't even questioned why it happened at all?

Oh, right. Annabeth was in love with Luke. She must've come to this conclusion and immediately written it off. Luke could do no wrong. That stupid fucking bitch. If she had told everyone that earlier, maybe people could've detained Luke. No, that was a ridiculous thought. No one at camp could come close to Luke. He was stronger than anyone else, and if they tried to capture them, they'd be killed with the pit scorpion like Percy almost had been.

"Close, Nancy. But remember who those shoes were originally for?"

"He tried... he tried to kill... you..."

"Yeah. Luke is the one who betrayed the camp. He's the one working for K."

"Holy shit."

"Man, the backpack feels even heavier now. I didn't pick anything up, right? Let me check."

Percy unzipped the bag, and took out the metal cylinder that was the master bolt.

"Oh. This is what we thought Hades' had. Perfect. That means Hades' is actually totally justified. No one approached him, but his Helm was stolen, and he was just trying to get it back. To him, his Helm is probably as important as my mother is to me. I'd probably send my bloodthirstiest minions to get her back, if I had any. Let's go."

Nancy and Grover were unable to understand.

"Ares hid the bolt in this backpack so we'd unknowingly bring it into the underworld. Once we'd done that, Hades would kill us and he'd have the bolt, thus angering both Zeus and Poseidon. It would be world war two all over again. Only, that was a war between demigods. This war would annihilate humanity. But no way Ares is smart enough. Luke gave him both. The helm was stolen so that Hades would be mad and try to kill me, so I'd think Hades had the bolt and go to get it. A great plan. However, they forgot one thing."

"What's that, Percy?"

"I'm the son of the greatest mortal woman on earth, Sally Jackson. That makes me awesome."

* * *

When they reached the throne room, Percy threw open the doors, and was surrounded by undead soldiers. Regardless of this, Percy threw the Helm at Hades, who caught it with a dangerous, but confused look in his eye.

"Thanks so much for telling everyone that that was missing. It was easy to find out who stole it."

"What!? You dare mock me? If I had-"

"Yes, yes, I know. You assumed you would have been attacked immediately if it was discovered you lost your symbol. You need to have some faith. At any rate, Luke Castellen stole that Helm and the Master Bolt under the order of your father, for some reason. He gave them to Ares, who just likes war, hoping he'd cause a massive one. Ares enchanted a backpack so the Master Bolt would return to it once we brought it to the underworld. After killing us for our insolence, you'd be in possession of the Master Bolt and will have killed the only son of Poseidon. A three way war. I'll assume you don't want that. The souls of dead mortals serve no purpose in a war amongst gods. It would only serve to weaken your infrastructure. So, we decided to avoid that, banking on the fact you wouldn't wish to invite war. We stole your Helm back from Ares, and have delivered it to you. Please let my mother go from her wrongful imprisonment. I had done you no wrong other than killing your servant in my own defense at the time of her abduction. I ask that you release her, for she is also innocent."

"Did you say my father?"

"Yes. Luke gave me a magic pair of flying shoes, which nearly dragged my friend directly into Tartarus. However, since it was originally intended for me, we can assume it was I who was meant to enter Tartarus. I've also had dreams of someone referring to 'The Crooked One.' That's your father, correct? Of course, I have no real proof of my grandfather's involvement, other than I cannot think of anyone other than Ares, who is too stupid to concoct such a plot, who would gain from all three of the eldest gods going head to head."

"I see. You must have inherited your mother's intelligence. In truth, I was also interested in your mother, but I would not break my oath. Unlike your father. By the way... do you see your mother here? No, you don't. She already convinced me to let her go. And with a large amount of gold and jewels, as well. Somehow she managed to convince me to let her go with my money without a single ting in return. What a terrifying woman. At any rate... I believe you. If my father is truly behind this, I will need time to strengthen my defenses. It is no time to be bickering with the Olympians. I will allow you to leave here unharmed, as a show of grace. Take that dastardly Master Bolt with you."

 _So that's what was meant by save themselves? Maybe this time he hadn't kept her locked in time, since she was kidnapped outside of a fight situation. Huh. Maybe they'd killed Gabe, too? My mother wouldn't have any blood on her hands, then. How thoughtful that would be. Plus, she's escaped with gold and jewels!?_

"Thanks, Unc."

"Don't ever call me that again. Out of my sight."

Suddenly, the three heroes were standing on a beach. Ares were here.

"Guys, run. I'll handle this."

Grover and Nancy looked pained, but they relented to Percy's command.

"Hey. Little punk ass bitch. You stole from me. I can't forgive that."

"Actually, I repossessed stolen property. You're incorrect. As usual."

"You can't make me mad, kid. I fell for it at the diner, but now, you're going to die. You fought six boars before. Think you can handle six thousand?"

"I'll do you one better. I challenge you to a duel. To first blood. Whoever wins gets the Master Bolt. No hard feelings. Medieval weaponry only."

"I like your gusto. Prepare for death."

"I could say the same to you."

Percy knew he was destined to kill a god on this quest. Perhaps it was Ares, perhaps it was not Ares. At any rate, he could not lose. The nereid had told him the pearls were to be used when he needed them. If he used one now, what would happen?

He dropped on on the ground, and crushed it.

Immediately, a huge wave crashed on top of Percy from the ocean behind him. Percy obviously was not bothered in the slightest.

When the water receded, he was in full Atlantean-style battle armor, made from some unknown green metal. It was light, but seemed much stronger than celestial bronze.

Ares let out a whistle.

"Whew, never thought I'd see the day a twelve year old demigod wore adamantium armor. That's the same stuff that keeps the Titans locked away, you know. A huge door of this stuff. Needless to say, it's the strongest metal there is. No question. Never rusts, never tarnishes, never breaks, never yields to anything. The walls of Troy had only a trace of this stuff in 'em, and it was a legendary unsiegeable city because of it. Only the twelve Olympians have armor made with that stuff. You're probably wearin' your old man's set, shrunk down. An ordinary celestial bronze sword's got no way a' cuttin' through that stuff. Impressive. Unfortunately, it can't hold edges because of the way it's forged. Only Hephaestus knows the way to forge it, and the only weapon you're gettin' made out of it is a mace. Even then, there's no point. Not even adamantium is strong enough to hurt adamantium. Gotta work around it. In a way, your old man just sealed your fate. Atlantean-style armor is impressive stuff. Only your neck is unprotected. Since it's adamantium, I can only aim for your neck. First blood or no, you're dying here. If the first blood is when your head gets disconnected from your body, then you die, and I still win. Hahaha! Man, if I was fighting another god, I'd put my armor on, but if I'm forced to by a child, I'll be laughed off of Olympus. But, at least, with that armor, you've got a microscopic chance of victory. This is no longer an execution. It's a real battle."

Percy quickly made sure he could still reach Riptide. He could win if his enemy thought he only had a single blade. He could do this.

Percy offered up a prayer in thanks for lending him the armor, before he said, "So quit your yapping. Let's fight."

As Percy drew his sword, a giant greatsword appeared in Ares hands. Percy knew Ares could wield it in a single hand with ease, if he wanted to.

"I will give you one free attack, since seeing that magnificent armor has put me in a good mood. I'll still block it, though. But I won't counter it, just this once."

Normally, this would have angered Percy, as the god was clearly saying Percy could never land a hit on him, no matter how significant, without Ares letting him.

However, in this case, he was glad.

Ares's arrogance would be his undoing.

The essence of a feint was to signal to the opponent where you would attack, then change where you would attack, so the enemy would guard the wrong place.

However, the effectiveness varied wildly depending on the situation.

In this situation, it would be most effective.

In the situation where the enemy believed you had only one chance to kill them.

Ares was certain Percy would go for the kill, since he seemed to have successfully angered him with the taunt. He'd go for the neck. A slash to the neck.

So that's what Percy would give him.

Of course, there were other factors that affected a feint's effectiveness.

Firstly, how soon in your attack could you signal your intentions? How quickly could you make the foe block the desired area?

Then there was how quickly you could change to a new area of attack. How long would it take for a slash to the neck to become a slash to the abdomen, or somewhere else?

Luckily, Percy had trained extensively.

For the particular feint Percy was going to use had another factor.

The length of the sword. A slash from above would take longer to get below the foe's guard the longer the sword was.

Riptide would have been too long, and Percy would have had to use the method from before to injure Ares slightly.

But Body Odor was just barely short enough.

He could do this.

Percy let out a roar, and charged Ares.

Sea water drenched Percy, and time slowed to a crawl. The adrenaline of this all or nothing feint combined with the seawater augmenting his senses caused time to slow immensely for Percy.

He could do this without revealing his secret weapon.

Percy raised BO, and started the feint. Normally, when hacking, as Percy seemed to plan to do to Ares, one would also use the wrist to swing the sword faster.

It looked like Percy was going to. It truly did. After countless hours of trining this one strike, he was finally able to eliminate any signals it was not ordinary from his face and body, up until the exact moment it changed.

As Percy brought down his sword, Ares's went up to block.

Perfect.

Ares's hands were level with his head and his sword was slanted diagonally down. He clearly thought he didn't need to swing to build up momentum to block Percy's attack. It was true, he didn't.

This superior defensive strategy meant Ares wasn't in motion with his arms, which would have essentially sealed his fate.

But it was still not enough. Ares's arrogance had blinded him. He had planned to immediately counterattack after Percy's strike failed. After all, all's fair in love and war. And he _was_ war.

Because of this, he had not prepared to recieve a feint. If he had actually been focused on receiving the attack properly, there's no way Percy's feint would have worked.

But it did. As the blow came down, Percy's wrist moved to counteract his arm, which is to say that the end of the sword remained in relatively the same place.

It moved slowly below Ares sword.

As soon as the edge-like tip of Body Odor was under Ares sword, Percy jabbed forward while maintaing the momentum of the feint. Ares's smirk vashished from his face at the exact same time.

Ares tried to jump backwards, as was the only available option since Percy's sword had reached between Ares's sword and body.

However, because Percy had anticipated Ares noticing before he was struck, and jumping back was the only thing he could do, Percy also leaped forward.

Ares had only meant to leap back far enough that the thrust wouldn't hit him. He was so caught off guard by the feint that he nly saw the swords end, not the body behind it. As such, Ares leapt back only three feet.

Percy leapt forwards five feet.

Body Odor reached the god's chest slightly above the heart. It passed through like butter.

Because Perseus's feint still maintained the momentum of the original direction, after the sword pierced all the way through the god's chest, it continued its path downward, through the heart, through the stomach, through the leg, and finally passing through the shin. Only the work of the genius son of the blacksmith god or an immortal sword like Riptide would be able to cut through a god's bones, which were stronger than celestial bronze, so effortlessly.

It was a disgusting sight.

Ares's body was nearly bisected, and its entire supply of ichor poured out in an instant.

The god had no time to scream.

He was dead.

A perfect victory.

Of course, even if left alone, he would be alive again in a few days, and he was still conscious despite not being able to move in any way or even speak.

He was immortal after all. Even so, Percy had achieved victory over the god of war.

But... it was no great victory.

Ares was, without doubt, the weakest of every single Olympian god. Even the noncombatants like Demeter or Dionysus or Aphrodite.

A god's power was not determined by things like what they represent.

They were powered by worship they receive and have received throughout their long lives.

Ares had been worshiped in very few places, even in ancient Greece. He was honored before entering war, but he could not even be trusted to pick the winning team.

Now, in the modern world, how many were there left alive who worshiped war as a concept.

War was brutal, and ugly, and horrifying. It was senseless and stupid.

Almost no one wanted war, loved war, worshiped war.

In contrast, all the other Olympians were worshiped even now, through what they rule over.

Humans have dreamt of flight since they first saw a bird in the sky. Zeus was loved.

Everyone loves the beach, and people depend on the ocean for food and transportation, not just recreation. Poseidon was loved.

Few men welcomed death with open arms, but even fewer turned away from money. Hades, as the god of the riches under the earth, was loved.

Humans have desired marriage since ancient times. Hera was loved.

The moon was worshiped by every civilization, at one time or another. People who didn't admire the moon when it was full were as scarce as those who had never heard of it at all. Artemis was loved.

The sun was loved more than almost anything else. Requirements for a beautiful day were being able to clearly see the sun. Apollo was loved.

Everyone needed to eat. There were even more who loved food than their wives. Demeter was loved.

True love, as well as sexual desires, were the driving forces of human life. It went without saying that Aphrodite was loved.

Technology was perhaps the greatest convenience of all time. Hephaestus was loved.

The only thing needed as much as food was a place to call home. Hestia was loved.

They say knowledge is power, and the first quarter of most humans lives was spent in pursuit of it. Athena was loved.

Infrastructure and traveling, correspondence and communication, all these things were necessary for every nation. Hermes was loved.

Drink and song and dance were never unloved. Some did not enjoy revels, but most did. Dionysus was loved.

But even those involved with it hated war. War was not something to be loved, even by the victors. The loss of human life was senseless. War was not loved.

Ares was hated.

Ares was the only god of Olympus that the majority of humans agreed would be tremendously beneficial for humans to not exist.

He was, by far, the weakest of all Olympian gods.

He had been defeated in one attack by a single demigod. Twelve or sixteen, the issue of the demigod's true age was like the issue of a marathon's finish line being one inches off or two. It did not matter at all. Whether it was luck or what was irrelevant. What was relevant was that a major Olympian god was killed in single combat by a demigod, without inflicting even a single injury on his opponent.

In honesty, the fighting strength of Ares was comically garbage compared to other gods. Demeter could kill hundred instantly with her dominion over plants. Aphrodite could warp the minds of others so completely that they would kill themselves just to please her. Dionysus could strangle any demigod in a matter of seconds with his vines.

But Ares had no powers like those. All he had was intimidation, and the ability to make others angry just by seeing him. Since Percy was affected by neither, it would come down to armed combat. Ares had the skill of, perhaps, fifty demigods. That was his strength in battle. Fifty demigod units. If he was rated a 50, even the next weakest, Demeter, would be ranked in the 10,000s range.

That was the difference in worship.

Also, the estimated strength of a demigod is not linear, or geometric, or anything like that. Any god could defeat any number of ordinary demigods, including Ares. Rather, a demigod unit was derived from the notion that losing a 'heroic demigod,' a demigod who has the strength of the famous heroes of the past, or just 'hero,' would be as bad as losing fifty demigods for Olympus's overall fighting strength. Alternatively, it could be said said gods' strengths could be measured by how many heroes would be necessary to defeat them, working in tandem. This number, multiplied by fifty, is the god's strength in demigod units. Under this method, Ares hero unit strength would be 1, while Demeter's would be 200-400. Of course, this number would be impossible to assemble. The largest group of 'heroes' was the Argonauts which numbered 50, but in truth, only 4 members were counted as true heroes. So, no more than 4 heroic demigods had ever existed at once. As such, the defeat of gods other than Ares by demigods was impossible.

* * *

 **Wowza, sorry I took forever. My excuse is that I don't need an excuse. This story is fucking insanely time-consuming to write, because I have to research nonstop, and cross-reference with all the books to see what would really happen if Percy did this or didn' do this, or whatever. Obviously some stuff I just made up. But, I'm under the firm belief that Riordan totally nerfed the power of the gods. No way would the original Percy have ever hurt the fucking god of war, it makes no damn sense. That's why I had to make Ares so pathetically weak. Luckily, I can make up an acceptable reason for pretty much anything. I think saying it's all about worship makes perfect sense. Also, the greeks really did not Ares at all. Other than Sparta, who thought he was the perfect warrior, he only had like a few temples. Zeus really does blast Ares in Homer's _Illiad_ like that, saying he hated him the most of everyone, and it was only because he loved Hera and he was born of her that he was even on the council, and if he wasn't he would be the first to be cast from Olympus. He also calls him a double faced liar, so, that's why he lies to Percy about counterattacking, though he didn't get the chance to make what he said untrue.  
**

 **Please review and tell me what you think. All feedback is greatly appreciated.**


	7. The Commander Can See You

**Disclaimer: This is a fan work expanding on the stories of Rick Riordan. No intent to infringe on his market is intended. Please support the official release.**

When Percy arrived in the throne room of the gods, he was no longer wearing the adamantium armor, and he was immediately forced to swear loyalty to Olympus for all eternity on the river Styx. Percy did so without hesitation, as he already held the belief he would never betray Olympus. Even then, Zeus, Athena, and Dionysus still believed Olympus would be better off if he were dead.

Zeus believed he had found some way to circumvent the oath, as he had shown no hesitation whatsoever when asked if he would be willing to swear by the Styx. Zeus feared this mega-powerful demigod might lead an army of minor gods to destroy him.

Athena felt that a child of Poseidon could not be trusted not to act rashly. With such immense power, he could do a lot of damage, even if he acted in what he thought were the interests of Olympus.

Dionysus just thought it would be a pain in the ass.

Ares surely wished the boy were dead, but he did not think Olympus would be any better for it. At any rate, he was not present when the vote was called for. His embarrassment would last him decades upon decades. He could not show his face in the throne room for votes, much less the weekly family game night **(A/N no joke though that's fucking canon it's in the second trials of apollo)**.

As such, Percy was allowed to live. It was decided that Kronos was attempting to rise, but no actions to prepare could be taken, as the threats were not yet apparent. Preparing for everything would stretch them out too thin, making it easier to defeat them with a planned attack. Preparing for nothing, but treading carefully, was the best move to make.

When Percy returned to camp, a party was thrown for the returning heroes. It had not been made public that Percy seized total victory in single combat against Ares, in part because it would demoralize the camp, in part because Ares's betrayal was not made public either. The council agreed that Ares was not in league with Kronos, he was merely too stupid to notice he was being manipulated. As such, he was not punished as a traitor. More like, he was so weak that even if he betrayed Olympus, he would have no value to the enemy. It was almost a burden on Olympus to have to keep him.

After the party, Luke tried to sic a pit scorpion on him again, but Percy smacked it with the flat of Body Odor so hard it practically vaporized.

Percy had already decided he could not just kill Luke here and end it all. Firstly, there would be no evidence of Luke's betrayal. Secondly, Kronos would just take some other host, and Percy would have no grasp on his fighting style or anything else. Percy would rather deal with something he knew was very dangerous than something he knew nothing about. If there was a chance of winning, he would never go for broke and try dealing with the unknown.

A tough battle with Luke commenced, and Percy was unable to win with Body Odor alone. He was saving Riptide to be a surprise weapon. He had not used it when fighting the war god, whom Percy could never have known was so weak, so it was assumed by the Titan forces that Body Odor was his only weapon. Percy assumed they had spies everywhere, and knew of what had happened, but perhaps it was not the case. He could not tell.

Percy had no wish to play his trump card in such an inconsequential and early battle, so he was beaten handily by Luke. While their skill with a blade was relatively equal, Percy's current body had not gone through puberty yet. When the tactics, rather, the skill, is the same, it all comes down to the weapons you use. Body Odor in the hands of a twelve year old couldn't compete with Backbiter wielded by a nineteen year old. Still, it was impressive for a twelve year old to fight a nineteen year old for so long before falling. It was all due to Percy's knowledge of Luke's style. Luke however, had never seen Percy's style. Percy tried his hardest to fight differently to how he normally did, to give him an extra edge in future battles.

Percy received many wounds, large and small, though Luke was not unharmed, but before Luke actually made him faint from the pain and blood loss, Percy pretended to. He wanted to see where Luke went. Luke walked into the woods, towards Zeus's fist. Did they already know about the Labyrinth? When Luke left, Percy took a bottle of seawater and covered himself with it. His wounds were severe enough to not be fully healed by only one bottle of seawater, but they were not severe enough for two bottles of seawater. However, he only used enough to stop the bleeding enough that he was not in danger. He needed everyone to see Percy could not have done this to himself, that Luke was definitely guilty.

He left and informed Chiron, who was stunned, and all that. Percy was just pissed off. Soon, Luke would try to frame Chiron, who cared for him so much, by poisoning his best friend. Despicable. Percy said that he was afraid Luke might try to destroy Thalia's Pine, which Chiron said was impossible. But, in the end, he relented to the only heroic class demigod the camp currently possessed(though the term was utterly unknown to Percy and other demigods and was only used by Chiron to describe them in his head), and the Hephaestus cabin installed numerous security cameras in the branches under cover of night, without alerting any other cabins. Since Luke had apparently turned traitor, no one trusted anyone. For this particular task it was convenient, but something had to be done to maintain the balance of the camp.

Since all Percy did after getting to pick all his own activities was free-style sword practice and desperately try to read a translated version of the Art of War, which he was convinced was the greatest thing ever written, Percy was unable to unite the camp. The duty had fallen to Annabeth, but she had been rendered slightly insane after the betrayal of Luke, and was also unfit. Many people had tried to unite the camp, but it always came back around to Percy. He was the first person to come back alive from a quest in several years.

Percy was nearly certain he would be unable to defeat the Titan Lord this lifetime, so it did not matter what state the camp was in. All that mattered was training. Of course, making efforts to sustain his life for as long as possible in order to train was also prudent, as was figuring out the best way to proceed after deciding he would be able to win against Kronos. He needed to know exactly what things to do in order to save everyone and give him the best advantage over Kronos.

This was almost as important as training, so he decided he would take the time to unite camp, two weeks after everyone began suspecting anyone. He also needed to know exactly who the spies were, for certain. If they were different every time, he'd be in deep shit. In this world, what things were random and what things were set in stone? It was fascinating to him. After he finished digesting the art of war, he took action.

At lunch one day, amongst the nervous chatter, Percy's loud, juvenile voice rang out as he stood up.

"Everyone!" he yelled.

"Now is not the time to doubt your brothers and sisters in arms! This will soon turn into war! In a battle, the worst possible thing is to doubt whether the man next to you will protect you with his life! Do not fear spies! Spies are inevitable during times of war. Double agents, triple agents, fake spies, feeding real spies fake info, giving our double agents real info, giving some spies tons of fake information, giving some spies no information at all. We will confuse the enemy's information network so badly, inundate it with real and false information, that they will have no idea what information is true, have no idea which spies are loyal, and have no idea what to do! They will have no choice but to not rely on any information from their spies, do you understand? Even if this information is leaked, as it undoubtedly will, it will only serve our own purposes. Have we already enacted this plan, or have we only now thought of it? Which spies have already turned, which spies have already been fed deliberately false info? The enemy has no way of knowing. Spies are not to be mistrusted! Even spies who are not loyal to us are a valuable resource! Everyone in this camp is your ally, regardless of whether or not they agree! So trust your fellow man! Trust your brothers and sisters in arms to protect you! And trust me to win this war!"

The crowd was utterly silent.

However, this was only for a split second while everyone waited to see if he would say anything else.

The instant it became clear he was finished, every single person shouted war cries, followed by cheers and hollering, whoops of joy. It was impossible to tell who was faking it and who was truly happy.

But Percy was not actually finished. After he waited for everyone to settle down, he said, in a much more normal voice, "Also, to the spies only. Please listen. If you are being threatened into being a spy, you will be forgiven immediately, and we will handle the problem together. If you are a spy because you are truly angry with the gods for mistreating their kids, suck it up. Need I remind you how the Titan Lord mistreated his kids? Compared to eating you whole, what kind of injustice is being ignored? You are no longer babies. Do not expect your parents to save you from what you must defeat. Get stronger, and defeat it yourselves. And finally, if you are a spy because you want to be on the winning side of the war... I am not sure how to give you solid proof, but we will definitely be the victors in the end."

At this, the crowd truly was silent. Were these truly the words of a twelve year old? It sounded like he was a trueborn hero, born to lead. Who was it that would not follow him into battle?

Of course, not everyone was pledging their loyalty yet, but a not insignificant number vowed to follow him on the spot. This was the effect of a man who led on the battlefield. He was used to rallying his troops in the heat of battle, when their lives were on the line and they were too scared to move. Just what kind of effect would this have on people who had only just learned of the threat? Would it be more effective, or less effective?

The result was that everyone, even those who hadn't totally signed off on him being their official leader, called him 'commander.' That was the kind of effect a former leader of camp had on the current residents.

Of course, Percy had gotten permission from Chiron to say all of this stuff. Chiron was delighted. 'So that's why you were reading that book,' he had mused.

* * *

That night, four spies came, separately to Percy's cabin in the middle of the night.

The first was Silena Beauregard, who had been told it was the only way to save her friends. When she wanted to back out of it, they had told her they would expose her and all her friends would hate her. Now that she had been talking with her cabin about the speech given by the wise son of Poseidon, she discovered that no one would have blamed her once they found out why she did it. Due to their having such enormous faith in the new 'commander' of camp to feed spies false data and all that other complicated stuff he was talking about, spies were actually thought of as what Percy said: a valuable resource. It was a radical change in perspective only possible for children.

Silena had come because she figured Percy would know what to do with her.

If Percy hadn't known her for years, he would probably forget how to speak. She was that pretty. Luckily, he had known her for years.

"Well, Lena. First, we'll decide whether you're a loyal Titan spy who was told to tell me that, to make me think I'd know how to use you."

Silena's already pale face turned paper white.

"I.. I... I'm not..."

"Exhibit A and exhibit B. Not enough information to decide definitively."

Some of the color came back.

"Thank... I.. I just... Um... I.."

"Exhibit C and D. We're almost done here."

Silena's face drained again, and she started to cry. It broke Percy's heart to see her cry. However, she would be an excellent deterrent against people thinking they could fool him. He had to be gung ho about his strange new abilities. After fully reading the Art of War, it was like Percy was a totally different person. Gone was the oblivious moron of the past. Though he still seemed to have a strange blind spot for certain things, for the most part, he was actually intelligent. It came from the wisdom of age. Though Percy was only sixteen, all his life and death experiences made him think he was more like thirty.

Silena's sobs of agony broke his heart and he felt his soul dying, but it was almost over. He was almost certain. Well, he'd never be a hundred percent certain, but people who weren't professional spies probably wouldn't be able to stand up to this emotional scrutiny. Now that she was in distress, it was time for the kicker.

"If they threatened to kill Charlie if you didn't give them information, would you go back to being their spy?"

She started crying harder. He would explain to her why she needed to cry later.

"I.. I... I don't know! I want to say I wouldn't betray camp but I can't let Charlie die! You'll save him, won't you!?"

Percy grabbed her shoulders and comforted her.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let anything happen to Beckendorf. I can tell you're not a spy. You're just a girl, who loves this camp, but loves Charles Beckendorf more. I'm so, so sorry for making you cry, but I had to be sure, you understand that, right? Shhh sh sh, it's okay to cry, but if you're too loud you won't be able to fall asleep again."

A sort of low groan of sadness was being emitted from the girls throat.

"I've got you, I've got you. It's okay. It's gonna be okay, everybody is okay."

After thirty more seconds, Silena stopped crying. Percy sat her on the edge of a bunk, and he sat facing her on a different one.

"Do you want to hear why I did all this? How I know you aren't a spy?"

She nodded.

"When I first said I thought you might be lying, your face turned white. You were terrified. I figured there could have been three reasons. You were telling the truth but couldn't prove it, thus you were frightened. You were a terrible spy who was frightened I'd found you out. You mere a mediocre spy, who was pretending to be scared but would give a reason later why you weren't a spy. Or, you were an excellent spy who was pretending to be scared, to make me think you were telling the truth."

"Wow."

"Then, you stuttered badly and tried to say you weren't a spy. You could still be either telling the truth, a terrible spy, or a terrific spy, but no ordinary amateur spy with half a brain would use the defense 'I'm not a spy.' Instead, they would have a reason prepared to convince me they weren't a spy. It was clear you had no intention of giving me a speech."

"That's amazing, Percy."

"That's not much, yet. After I mentioned I didn't know for sure if you were a spy or not, only a little of the color came back to your face. Your jumbled words agreed with this. A terrible spy would have been much more relieved that they had a chance to convince me. You were smart enough to know that everything you did, I'd analyze. You knew you weren't out of the water, but you were a little less scared. I judged you to be smart enough that you could not possibly be such a terrible spy. However, that still left the possibility that you were actually a terrific spy, who was either pretending to be a stupid spy or pretending to be telling the truth. That's why I said we're almost done here like I did, to see if you would try to make a desperate ploy, like a dumb spy would. It's also possible that a person telling the truth would do that, so if you had made a desperate ploy, I would have changed tactics accordingly."

"That's incredible. To think you were analyzing me so closely... to think every word you said was to draw out a specific reaction..." Silena silently shuddered, as if the thought was terrifying.

"Well, when you started crying, I decided you weren't pretending to be a bad spy. But you could still be excellently pretending to act this way. So I asked about Beckendorf. Luckily I know about you two, don't worry I haven't told anybody, but if I hadn't known I would've had to do things differently. And I needed you to be crying when I asked about Beckendorf, so you'd forget that they have no way of hurting him while he's in camp, and give me your honest answer. Your answer was excellent. Right from the heart. But it was what you said at the end that really sold me. It sounded like you thought they really were going to do that. Your heart took over your brain at that moment, and begged me to do something I didn't even need to do. It was then I decided you were telling the truth. Or, rather, if you were able to fake something like that, you would have to be an excellent, professional spy, and I'd have no way of figuring it out. If you were able to convince me that was really from the heart, I would have no choice but to concede defeat to you."

"You're amazing, Percy. I'm so glad you're on our side. It's like you're a child of a Athena."

 _No, one just rubbed off on me. I had so many epiphanies when I was reading the Art of War, I feel like an entirely different person! I can barely wait to use all this stuff to fool with Kronos!_

"No, no. Besides, no one has infiltrated camp. The only spies they have are amateurs. They couldn't be at a professional level."

"Oh... I hadn't thought of that."

"No worries. Now, what to do with you... your story is so noble it's nauseating. The enemy knows your story, and once they find out about the speech I made, they'll have no doubts you came to me. Now, our goal here isn't to feed every single spy false data, so that they'll use inaccurate info when making decisions. No, the goal is just to confuse them. They probably think I was lying about giving people real information, but I'm not. If I only give false info, then they'll be able to counter it. I can't do anything they'd expect. They'd expect everything we do to be to our advantage, but if we do that, they'll be able to predict our actions, and that is the worst outcome. That's why, we'll do things randomly. That's what I said, and if they're smart, that's what they'll believe. So then, what's the one thing they would never expect me to do? Simple."

"Yeah? What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Huh!?"

"At least, in your case. It's practically a guarantee that you'd come here and do what I tell you, so they'll probably be expecting me to feed you false data. You'll feel indebted because you've been spying on us, so you'll have no problems doing that. Or, they might expect me to have you do nothing at all. So, they'll be thinking it's fifty fifty whether they'll get no information or false information. In any case, they won't rely on anything you tell them. So, you'll tell them everything. All the truth. What better outcome than the enemy doubting the truth? In all likelihood, we won't catch every spy, so they'll have all the information. Our true objective here is to give them false information they think is true, and true information they think is false. They won't even be able to trust the information of spies that they're certain stayed loyal. Brilliant, don't you think?"

"That's... terrifying. Have you always been like this? Children of the big three are really scary."

"No, no. I was born a nincompoop. There's three people I have to thank for being like this. Sun Tzu, and two people I can't tell you about."

 _Annabeth, and Kronos. Kronos sent me back in time, and Annabeth opened my eyes to the ways of knowledge over brute strength. Without her, I'd have focused solely on training my physical skills. I'd only be useful during battle, not before or after. That's the one thing I can thank you for, Wise Girl. And of course, Sun Tzu. That Art of War is a nasty piece of work. Hell of a book. No way was he a mortal._

"No, don't say that. I'm sure you've always been smart. Even if it wasn't like now, I'm sure you still had street smarts. You were never stupid. I think. I've only just met you."

"By the way, Lena. How did you communicate with their army?"

She showed him her scythe charm.

He thanked her, and sent her on her way.

The next day, Silena told everyone to call her Lena from now on.

It was also the first day she told Beckendorf, whom she was secretly dating, that she loved him. He replied in kind. She didn't tell him she'd been a spy, but it was because Percy warned her that her part to play would be compromised if people knew she wasn't a spy anymore. It made no sense to her. Wouldn't her real info be even more likely to be seen as false if all the other spies said she became loyal to the camp? Percy told her he didn't think so, so she didn't tell anybody about it.

Three other spies came to Percy the same night as Silena. Two had been threatened, while the remaining one said he had been angry at the gods, but now he saw it Percy's way. Percy was able to figure out he was lying fairly easily. He decided to pull out one of the two that had been threatened, told the other to report to him for false reports, and for the one who was lying, he said, 'Make stuff up. But tell me what you make up before you tell them.' He had done this because he decided he couldn't gain much, so he just wanted the spy to tire himself out. No need for Percy to waste time giving him false reports he wasn't going to tell them about anyways.

But then, as he was leaving, Percy added, "But, occasionally, I'll need you to give them specific true information, which I'll give to you personally. From someone who's always totally wrong, they'll never believe you, so it's a good way to trick them into thinking their loyal spies are actually double agents."

Of course, he was actually planning to give him information that was wrong, but hopefully he'd gleefully report the situation to his superiors. It seemed plausible enough, so they might actually believe him. Even if they didn't it was no big loss. It would only be faked intel anyways.

When weak, appear strong. When strong, appear weak. When near, appear far, when far, appear near. When prepared for battle, appear disorganized, when troops are scattered, appear cohesive. The root of all warfare was deception. If all information was distrusted, it would come down to an all out fight. However, if Percy had potentially infinite time to make note of the enemies movements, then he would know everything spies could tell him. This way, it would not be an all out fight, but a fight much in his favor. Of course, all this was mixed unit tactics. It meant nothing if he wasn't able to defeat Kronos personally.

Over the course of the next few weeks, he trained diligently in the day, and in the evening he dealt with the spies. When he wasn't busy, he studied mixed unit tactics, and what formations had worked across history.

It was the day after the summer solstice, in which Ares finally showed his face to the other gods, when something incredible happened.

They all discussed what to do about the Kronos situation, but until more information emerged, nothing could be done. That was the decision.

All the female goddesses ridiculed Ares's defeat against a kid who couldn't even be called a hero yet. Ares tried to protest, saying that Percy had exceeded the hero rank and was definitely on the great hero rank, the rank that Heracles had necessitated, but only Heracles and Daedalus ever sat upon. Even Daedalus was only really an honorary great hero, since in battle he couldn't match an ordinary demigod, much less a hero, certainly not a great hero. The suggestion this twelve year old was a match for Heracles at his prime was enough for even the gods trying to defend Ares to burst into laughter. Well, except Zeus and Poseidon. Poseidon was doing his best not to look too proud, and Zeus was doing his best not to look too terrified.

At any rate, the next day, Percy went through all the events that would happen next summer. Then he remembered. Circe.

What had they said? Did they say only women could do magic? Percy thought that sounded pretty plausible, but what if it wasn't? What if he could learn magic? If magic was more like a skill, like his water controlling abilities, and could be brought back even when he reset, then... he needed to get on this right away. There were so many ifs. If men can learn, if he can learn, if it's a skill, if it carries over across resets. But, in the event the answers to all of them were 'yes,' then he would gain a powerful new trump card. He needed to learn about magic. Maybe he should ask Chiron? Maybe there was a child of Hecate amongst the undetermined campers.

He decided he'd immediately head for the Hermes cabin.

He went in, after putting everything he had on him, save his two precious swords, in his cabin, but it was nothing like he remembered.

Without Luke, the place seemed... dead. Percy hadn't noticed in his first lifetime. There weren't many jokes flying, and everyone seemed slower than usual.

They perked up a little when they saw Percy, but that was it.

Travis greeted him.

"Yo, what's happening, commander? Pretty brave wearing a Beckendorf original in this place."

A few heads turned at the words Beckendorf original, but lost interest when they saw it was Percy. Nancy followed him around like a lost puppy, and she was an even better thief than the Stolls. If it was Percy's, and he still had it, it was unstealable. That was the general consensus. You could not steal from the commander. Anything you could take was already gone.

But he never seemed to 'lose' things, and Nancy insisted she had never been able to steal anything from Percy, so deep down, they assumed it just couldn't be done. Which was more or less true, actually. Percy trained himself to the point where he was alert and focused even when he was relaxing. It was common knowledge that if you tried to hide from Percy Jackson, if he was looking, he'd find you even if you were invisible. Which was more or less true, actually. He'd caught an invisible Annabeth looking at him from far away numerous times, thinking he didn't notice the Annabeth-foot shaped indentations on the grass. Inside, he couldn't see invisible people, but outside it seemed he could. As soon as he noticed her, Percy would always look right where he thought her eyes would be and stare at her until she left. It was probably her who spread those rumors. Actually, there were way more rumors about him than even he knew. There was something called 'the Seven Mysteries of Percy Jackson,' but he was only aware of four of them. Whenever he asked about the remaining three, people would just look blankly at him and say, "Don't you know? The two missing mysteries are the seventh mystery," the exact same way, every single time. They were definitely hiding something from him.

The mysteries he'd heard of were:

1\. [All-seeing]. If he's looking, he'll find you even if you're invisible. (true-ish, but only outside)

2\. [Theft-proof]. It's impossible to steal something from him. If you make away with something, it's because he let you take it. (The only fully true mystery. He'd been protecting himself from the Stolls for years, and Nancy was even worse. He'd eventually built up an immunity.)

3\. [Pre-lie Detection]. If he looks in your eyes, he can tell if what you say next will be a lie, even if you haven't thought of it yet. (True-ish. He couldn't tell if they hadn't decided to say anything, but he could almost always tell from facial expressions and body language if a person was going to lie. Dealing with spies day in and day out had made this a necessity.)

4\. [Legendary Swordsmaster]. He's such a skilled swordmaster he can even drag his sword across his arm without hurting himself. (True-ish. Body Odor chose him, so it won't hurt him. He'd shown someone this once, but they misunderstood and thought it was him that was incredible, not the sword. Others had seen it from far away as well, so it was impossible to quash the rumor just by correcting the guy he meant to show. In any case he was a very skilled swordsman, but he did not consider himself a swordsmaster.)

The three he didn't know were kept from him because no one wanted to know whether they were really true. They were too terrifying.

5\. [Phantom Sword]. He can decide whether or not his sword will touch your sword, and if he wishes it, his sword will pass straight through yours without a noise. It was impossible to defend against. (True-ish. He had such excellent feints that moved so quickly and passed so close to the edge of the opponent's sword before going immediately back up that it looked like his sword passed through the opponent's sword. His feint had only gotten more refined after his fight with Ares. The idea that no one could block his attacks if he decided to stop playing around was so utterly terrifying that everyone who knew the mystery vowed never to learn if it was true. Even if they just told him about it, his reaction might give it away. Though Percy did start wondering why every single person on the enemy's team in capture the flag had a shield all of a sudden. They believed Phantom Sword wouldn't work on shields. It seemed to be true, though he still beat them every time.)

6\. [Advanced Mind Reading/Memory Reading]. He could see every thought you ever had, as well as what you were thinking at the moment, just by looking at your eyes a single time. (Untrue. It came about because Percy seemed to have dirt on every single person in camp, and knew about people's crushes even when they hadn't told anyone but themselves. He also seemed to know about where everyone was from, and what their parents were like. In reality he was just from the future, but isn't that even more unbelievable? Everyone wanted to believe he just had good intuition. They didn't want him to know every bad thing they'd ever done. This was especially helpful for Percy, because it caused most spies who were still loyal to the Titans to stop looking at him. It made it obvious they were hiding something, even if he had no idea about the crazy rumor.)

7\. [Martial God]. During his quest, he fought the god of war to a standstill. (Untrue. He defeated the war god. There was no standstill involved.)

At any rate, Percy decided he'd humor Travis.

"Oh come on, Travis. You know it's impossible to steal from me."

The life seemed to drain away from him. [Theft-proof] was true!

"Travis, seriously, it was just a joke. I'm as human as any of you. Connor that pen you just took will be gone in three minutes, might as well give it back now."

Connor, who was behind him and had in fact just taken Riptide right from Percy's pocket, lost his cocky smirk, widened his eyes, and dropped the pen in surprise.

"Holy Hermes! You're the real deal!"

"Damn straight! Long live the commander!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, you big idiots. I came here for a reason, you know. I want to see if I can figure out which gods the undetermined are from."

About half the cabin shot up to attention, standing and staring at Percy. The rest looked at him for a few seconds in shock before going and doing whatever.

"Listen, guys, follow me to the Arena. You guys have a free slot and I'm booked there for this one."

A faint taunt of 'awww, Percy's breaking the ruuuuuules' was heard from someone at the other end of the cabin, and Percy ignored it.

"Is this all of you? No, it's not, is it. Uhh, Butch, can you collect who we're missing and bring them to the Arena? Thanks, you're a pal."

Percy was really only looking for any children of Hecate, but as soon as he stepped into the Hermes cabin he knew he had to help these people.

The undetermined marched behind Percy towards the Arena. Butch went and found everyone, and finally it was time to start.

"Alright, this might be really boring for all but one of you at a time, so you can watch or do whatever, it's fine, just don't make too much noise."

There was a portable brazier with them, which Percy would use for sacrifices. Chiron was also alerted and came to watch, in case anyone was actually claimed.

"Well, line up, I guess."

After some mad shuffling, the first kid was a boy, age 10.

"Alright, kid. So, what let me know who my dad was before I got claimed was knowing what I liked. I loved the ocean and water in general. Around water, I just felt good. It was pretty obvious. Maybe some of you are also like that. I'll see if I can find something in your likes and dislikes that's a clue, not just what powers you can use and what activities you're the best at. So, kid, what's your favorite thing in the world?"

"Definitely construction equipment! Back hoes, front end loaders, cranes, dump trucks, cement mixers! So cooooooool!"

"Isn't that pretty obviously Hephaestus? He owes me a favor, more or less, so let's see if I can ask."

Percy ignored the wide eyed looks when he said a god owed him a favor. Was it because [Martial God] was really true?

Percy said, "for Hephaestus," and dropped a drachma into the sacrificial flames, and sure enough, it dissolved. If Iris accepted them, why not the other gods?

 _Hephaestus, I literally killed Ares, so pretty please at least listen. Is that kid really not yours!? He's crazy about construction equipment, so, I mean, it really seems like-_

 _Kid, I appreciate you taking Ares down a few notches, so I'll talk to you for a measly one drachma. The gods I know don't claim their kids for no reason. They've got to accomplish something. Well, I don't know about some of the other Olympians, but every minor god I've talked to agrees with me. For the record, that is my kid, but I'm not claiming him til he makes something of himself. Oh, and no other god will even blink at you for less than a hundred, by the way. With this, I no longer owe you anything. For what it's worth, good luck.  
_

 _Well, that was insane. Did Hephaestus really just talk in my head? Holy shit._

"Well, change of plans, everybody. Sort of. Turns out, the gods typically won't claim a kid unless they do something to prove themselves worthy. Why nobody just told Chiron that in the first place is entirely beyond me. Oh, by the way, kid, your dad is Hephaestus, but he's waiting for you to do something great. Go forge something. Build a toy dump truck or something. I don't know how those guys operate."

"Okay! Bye, Mr. Commander, sir!" he said, with a five finger salute.

 _Well, that was adorable._

"Anyways, next up."

The undetermined where in a daze, but they moved up regardless.

"What about you? What's your favorite thing in the world, Butch?"

"Err.. can I whisper it to you? It's kind of embarrassing... *I really love when the rain stops and the sun starts shining. It's so peaceful, you know?*"

"*So, do you like rainbows?*"

"*...yeah...*"

"Sounds to me like you're a son of Iris, goddess of rainbows! Even if you aren't, try figuring out what abilities you have. If you can communicate like your mother, that would be crazy helpful. If not, don't worry about it. Maybe it's something else, but... what did your dad describe your mom like?"

"Er... someone really beautiful and gentle. I should always try to be like her, he said. Of course, he was in the mob, so I'm not sure how much I can trust what he says, but..."

"Your dad's shitty career decisions aside, that sounds like Iris would, right? What are rainbows if not beautiful and gentle?"

 _Who would've thought Iris had a thing for bad boys?_

This went on for quite some time. Most were so simple that Percy wanted to cry, but some were a challenge.

Just as Percy was beginning to think there really wasn't a child of Hecate, there she was.

* * *

 **Lol, this chapter's a mess. I apologize for it being so weird. I hope I continue to meet expectations. I already have a lot of the next chapter written, so I can't promise anything, but if this chapter is really technical and you totally hate it, please tell me. If you can bear with it for one more chapter, please do. I mean, it is adventure/humor, but I honestly can't tell when I've written something other people will laugh at. I hope it is half awesome and half hilarious, but I can just vaguely tell this chapter is different than the others, only because almost nothing in it has a correlating event in the books. Please tell me if something is wrong with it.  
**

 **Also, 200 followers. Pretty good for six chapters by someone who's on the follow lists of under 50 people, if I do say so myself.**

 **One more thing, please advise me on the matter of the new summary. It's not different, I just expanded it a bit.**

 **P. S. I solemnly swear on the river Styx that chapter 8 will be uploaded this Friday, 7-21/17**


	8. Percy Goes to Hogwarts, As If

**ACTUALLY IMPORTANT A/N: Before we get going here, there is an important announcement. This is only about PJO. This fic will be until he beats Kronos. If it does well there may be a sequel, but this particular fic will only be PJO. That's why magic is totally overhauled and I didn't remember if there were any Hecate kids or anything, so... I just made it all up. You see, Percy really needs to be able to... ~no spoilers~  
**

 **Disclaimer: Do not own PJO. See previous disclaimers.**

* * *

 _There she was._

A girl, alabaster skin, white as porcelain, mostly straight black hair falling to her waist, and striking purple eyes, that looked as if they were on fire. She looked to be Percy's physical age, which is to say, an old 12, maybe young 13. She walked up to Percy, but she tilted her head downwards, causing her nigh-imperceptibly wavy hair to cover her face, and put her hands her hands behind her back.

 _ADORABLE! SHE'S ADORABLE! SO SHY! I WANT TO PROTECT HER! I WANT MY LITTLE SISTER TO BE LIKE THIS! SO CUUUUTE! MY MANLY INSTINCTS ARE CALLING OUT TO ME TO KEEP HER SAFE! COULD THIS BE WHAT THEY CALL BROTHERLY LOVE!? I THOUGHT THAT WAS JUST A LINE CHICKS USED TO PRETEND THEY WEREN'T CHEATING!_ **(A/N: if yo girl tell you 'he's like a brother to me' you better watch yo ass.)** _  
_

"Ahem," Percy said, his mind clearly at odds with his words. "What's your name?"

The girl twisted on her feet, the very image of shyness.

Her voice was just as adorable, and to top it off, she spoke like a little kid, too.

"Name... Liliana." She pointed at Percy, then back at herself, and said, "Lily."

Actually... no, she didn't talk like a little kid at all. Even a five year old would have been able to say 'You can call me Lily.' What was going on?

"Your name is Liliana, but you want me to call you Lily instead, is that right?"

Percy couldn't see her face through her hair, but judging by the shudder than rippled through her body, she seemed to be quite surprised. She slowly nodded, like she couldn't believe it.

 _It wasn't_ that _hard to figure out. What else could she have possibly meant? Well, I guess I'll figure it out if I keep talking to her.  
_

"Okay, Lily. Do you think you can tell me what it is that you really like?"

"...Magic... ...Harry Potter..." Her voice was tiny. If his insane training hadn't sharpened all of his senses, there's no way he would have heard her.

At this time, whenever Percy trained, he didn't stop, even when he felt like his arms were going to come off. He understood that if he pushed himself too far his muscles would be permanently damaged. At least, that's what he had assumed. It should have been true for a human, but demigod physiology was obviously different. Even when he shredded his muscles on a daily basis, he could find no evidence he hurt them. Though, he had been using water to heal his muscles so he could continue his wild pace. It seemed that if he didn't let muscles regrow on their own, they wouldn't get stronger. Of course, Percy was fairly confident his current body couldn't get much more muscular. Even if he was boosted by being a demigod, he was still twelve. All he could do was concentrate on technique. That's what would matter more in the end. Once he had reached the limits of swordsmanship, and made all his other preparations, then when he reset he would focus on training his muscles. At this point, they just weren't important.

"So, you like books about magic, right?"

Percy couldn't believe his luck. Or maybe, misfortune. How would she be able to teach him about magic if she could barely speak?

Lily nodded slowly. What was so amazing?

"Have you... ever used magic before?"

Percy asked quietly. His tone made Lily move closer to him and whisper as well.

She made the hand motion for 'shaky' by rotating her open palm back and forth quickly, in the same way someone might use to accompany 'sorta?' and in a tiny voice, as if she wasn't really sure, said, "Small small..."

She looked up at Percy with a good deal of worry in her eyes. Well, it was the strangest thing she'd said so far. Maybe she was worried he wouldn't understand her? It was pretty obvious to Percy that what she meant was 'Only a tiny bit, I think. I'm not quite sure.'

"So, you're not a hundred percent certain, but you think you can do a little bit. That right?"

Lily closed the little distance between them and hugged Percy with all her might, which seemed to be somewhere between none and almost none.

"Know! Know! All! Good! Love!" (You can understand me, you can really understand me! You understood what I meant to say perfectly! This is amazing! It's the best feeling! Yay! Thank you so much!)

"Yes, yes, Lily. I get it, you're very happy. But if you keep hugging me, people will..."

 _Huh, I guess no one would call me a cradle robber if I'm the same age as her. It was a joke anyways, though it still feels wrong to be hugging her. But isn't she a bit too excited? I mean, there are charades more complicated than this. Why wouldn't anyone else... Wait, where in Hades is everybody? They were all here a second ago. Were they only staying for the person in front of her? Chiron left in the middle, since it was clear no one was going to get claimed or anything. But, it couldn't be that... am I the only..._

"Lily, why are you so excited? Surely there are others who can..."

Lily let go and backed up with a sad, but resigned look on her face. She covered her ears with her hands and said, "No..."

"Lily, do you mean to tell me that other people can't hear you at all?"

Lily nodded sadly.

 _So that was why they left without her. That would explain why she was at the end of the line, too. No one could hear a word she said, so they didn't bother trying to make friends with her. Maybe there was some reason writing, or charades, or sign language wouldn't work. This girl has been alone her whole life, if her father couldn't understand her..._

"Lily... how long have you been here?"

Lily made an 'mmm' noise, then shook her head quickly, like she didn't want to shake it at all. He could tell this was different from the answer 'no.' It was just 'I'm not telling you that.'

Hmmmm. The girl wasn't dumb or anything, but she wasn't old or experienced enough to understand that her refusal to answer made the real one obvious.

"Oh, Lily. I guess you're not used to conversations. That would make sense if you lived your whole life in this camp, being unable to talk to anyone."

 _Gods, I can't even imagine it. Living alone, surrounded by people for so long... I guess that's why I never noticed her before. She must have left between my first and second summers, before I really knew everybody. I guess someone who can't speak to anyone wouldn't even try to. Hmm, I guess that's why she was so shy when I first asked her name, and why she looked so surprised when I told her I'd understood._

Lily's ears turned red and she bent her head down so her hair would cover her face.

Percy couldn't help himself, and reached out to fix her hair.

"Lily, turn around. I'll be your official translator from now on, but you're never gonna make friends if no one can see your face, got it?"

Lily turned around.

Percy braided her black hair like he'd been doing it for years. He'd only figured out how after seeing a girl do it once a week and a half earlier. He'd found that with stuff like this, just random things, he was starting to be able to just figure it out. Maybe this was why old people were thought of as wise.

Percy finished the braid in a matter of seconds, ignoring Lily's occasional "Owie! No!" It sounded like she meant stop, but he knew instinctively she just meant it hurt. 'No' in this particular case meant 'bad,' or, to be more specific, 'that hurt.'

When she turned around, she smiled and nonchalantly said, "Love."

Percy felt the color drain from his face.

"No, Lily, don't say that! I know you just meant 'thank you very much' but that word has too many meanings, and that's not normally one of them! Just say 'Thanks!'"

Lily tilted her head sideways. "Th... tha... thang... thank... thanks?"

"Yes, yes, that's it! That's what you should say when someone does something nice for you and you're grateful!"

Lily smiled and shouted, "Thanks! Thanks! Thanks!" to no one in particular.

"Oh, good gods."

She looked at Percy and said, "Good! Thanks! Percy!" (I'm happy I learned a new word! Thank you very much, Percy!)

"P, Percy!? When did you learn how to say my name!? It took you a while to sound out thanks, so how come 'Percy' was no problemo!?"

Liliana, with her pale skin, blushed deeply, and hung her head, before she remembered that wouldn't hide her face. She covered it with her hands instead and said, "No! No!" defensively.

"What do you mean, 'That's not true, I don't know what you're talking about!'?"

"N...no!" she shouted, and looked about ready to cry.

Percy gave her a quick hug, and said, "Don't worry about it so much, Lily. I was just teasing you. I guess you might not be familiar with the ins and outs of conversations, though it seems you can understand English perfectly well. Anyway, I was just playing with you, having fun, you know. I'm sorry for not explaining first."

Lily's face looked like it was on fire. "Th...thanks!"

 _Hmm, she doesn't know any words for forgiveness. That's a bit frightening._

"'Don't sweat it,' right? I guess if I'm the only one who can hear you, then it doesn't matter so much, but so you know, 'thanks' doesn't mean anything like that, normally."

"Thanks!"

"So, Lily... What is the magic can you do?"

That was when Lily said something he didn't understand.

She held out her palm, said some word he'd never heard, not Latin or Greek or English, and a little static shock arced from her thumb to her index finger.

She looked over at Percy, who was staring at her hand.

"G...good?"

"Y-yes, Lily. Very well done. Amazing. That was magic. That was lightning magic, I guess. Something like that. It definitely wasn't an ordinary demigod control ability. There's a whole new world to discover, Lily. You're amazing."

"g...g..good... good... good.."

"Ah, Lily, what you mean is 'Happy.' Happy means when you feel like life is worth living. Do you feel that way? I'm almost certain your mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. Your speech problem probably has something to do with your magic. Which means, we might be able to fix it. Are you happy?"

Lily was clearly crying because she was happy she finally knew what was wrong with her, sort of. She nodded over and over.

"Here, we say, 'Yes.' That means the same thing as nodding."

"H...ha..happ...happy. Lily... happy... Percy... happy?" She looked at him expectantly.

"Yes, I'm very, very happy. Especially because you are so happy."

"Lily Percy happy!"

"Y...yes! That's right, we're both happy, we're friends now, so it only makes sense we'd be happy when the other person is happy."

 _Ah, she's just so cute that when she gets all excited and shit, I feel like my kid sister is happy. I can't say no to that, it's impossible._

"Thanks!"

"Hey, Lily... when you cast that spell... what was it? What did that word mean?"

Lily put her hands on her chest, then spread her arms out wide. Then she thought for a bit before saying, "Go!"

"Oh, so it means something like 'Release,' right?"

She nodded, before saying, "Percy know all!"

That sounded much more grandiose than it really was. All she meant was 'You understood perfectly/completely!' However, it sounded like she was saying Percy was omniscient, and Percy blushed in embarrassment before he could stop himself.

"Well, Lily, do you think you could try to explain how you do it?"

"...Percy?" she inquired. (You want to try using magic?)

"Well, I mean, what's the point in not giving it a shot? I doubt I'll actually be able to do it, but why not at least try? Also, explaining things sometimes helps you understand them better yourself."

Lily thought about this for a long time. She held up a finger, indicating she was going to start explaining.

She closed her eyes, and pointed at her temple, then opened her eyes and looked at her palm. She tapped it a few times, then said, "Go!"

"Hmm... Well, I'll see if I can do it. Can you slowly say 'release' in... whatever language it's in?"

"...magic...Harry Potter..."

Lily looked very worried he'd have no idea what she meant, but he understood.

"Ah, it's just the magic language. You just meant language when you said Harry Potter, since it's the only book you can say the name of. Don't worry, I can tell what you're trying to say. Really, I don't know why no one else can hear you."

"Y...Ye...Yes. Yes! All!"

"Don't sweat it, Lily. Just say 'release.'"

Lily slowly said it, and Percy repeated it.

He understood basically what her pantomiming meant. He had to hold the word in his head, then try to visualize it going from his head to his hand.

 _'Release...' 'Release...'_

He opened his eyes, and stared at his hand, trying to visualize power flowing from his head to his hands, and said 'Release!'"

Suddenly, Percy dropped to the ground, and began to pant.

"That was... wow... I feel like I ran a mile all at once... Man, nothing happened except, well, if it was a video game, I feel like I just wasted all my mana doing nothing... All that happened was my hands got sweaty..."

But Lily saw it differently. Percy didn't know this, because she couldn't explain it, and hadn't tried to tell him in the first place, but she could visually see mana, which was an ethereal substance within the body and mind, used to power magic. She could see the mana flowing through everyone's bodies. She'd never been able to ask anyone if this was normal, so she wasn't sure if it was proof of her heritage. Percy had... not very much mana. Way less than normal people. He had about as much as a normal mortal. And when he cast the spell, it took all of his mana, and further required his life-force to cast. That was why he was so tired. She could not explain how she knew, even if she could communicate normally, but she understood that the spell 'release' would expel a set amount of power, using however much energy was necessary. Normally mana was sufficient, because it released next to no power, but in the case it wasn't enough, life-force would be used. The power expelled from the body took on the form the user was most comfortable with. For herself, it was electricity, for no real reason. But for Percy, it was water. He thought his hands got sweaty, but actually, only his right hand got wet. It was because his mana was converted into water, but it had so little power it didn't even come off his hand. Lily couldn't really damage anyone with her magic, but she could still shock them a little. But Percy's magic was very limited.

Lily felt two emotions. The first was shock. She couldn't believe he'd really done it. It wasn't as if Lily hadn't been able to do it the first time she tried, but she was under the impression that males couldn't manipulate their mana. Regardless of how much mana someone had, if they couldn't manipulate it, they would never be able to cast any spell, and their mana would lie dormant. Even among demigod women, it was only about a 1-in-500 chance to be able to manipulate mana. No one at camp had the ability. Or so she thought. She could tell if someone could manipulate their mana, but only if she looked carefully. She'd been here her entire life, and when she was five years old she discovered how to see mana. She checked every girl, and every new girl, but none could do it.

But she didn't bother checking the boys. She knew they wouldn't be able to. It was very much an instinctual thing, but she thought that perhaps a few ultra-powerful spells might be able to cause someone to gain the ability, but it should have killed him. Ultra-powerful spells were all deadly. This was what she felt subconsciously.

But she thought about it more, and realized how it could have been done. It may have been the fact he had next to no mana that gave him the ability. If he was blasted with ridiculous amounts of magic power, it should have stimulated some of the mana in him. That would have been normal. But to manipulate mana, all of it has to be stimulated at some point. People born with the ability just figure out how when they're still a baby, testing everything its body can do. They naturally stimulate it with their own power, a little at a time. This is why it was very common for people with a great deal of natural mana supplies to not learn to manipulate it till they were much older than babies. It had taken Lily until she was five. She had an unbelievable amount of mana, presumably thanks to her mom, she now knew.

So, normally, for boys, who always lack the natural ability to stimulate mana, it was impossible to manipulate it. Even if someone was hit with a super high power spell, it would never stimulate all of their mana at once, and usually kill them. But Percy had such little mana... if he was hit with a supreme amount of magic energy, and managed to survive, it's possible that... no, it's certain that all of it was stimulated at the same time. Could this have something to do with why she felt like he was way older than her?

But the second emotion was fear. Percy had almost no mana, and though it was technically possible to increase one's mana through meditation, Percy had not done so. He used up all his mana and it was necessary to use his life energy to power the spell instead. But that could have killed him! He hadn't passed out, so maybe it was okay, but it could have been very dangerous...

"Hey, Lily, mind if I lie down here for a minute?" Percy said, before immediately collapsing.

"Aaaah! Percy! No! No! No good! No good! Aaaah!"

He did pass out! This was bad! Just what kind of monstrous willpower did he have that let him stay conscious with such little life energy left!? She looked closer and saw that he was practically on death's doorstep. No, it was worse than that! He had more than even a foot in the door, more like he only had one foot _out_! How in the name of Hecate was he able to cling to consciousness!? He should at least be coughing up copious amounts of blood! Just what kind of monster was this guy!?

But seriously... so little mana... Lily instinctively knew that 'Release' was the weakest spell there was. And it had brought him to the brink of death... Life energy was magnitudes stronger than mana energy, and he possessed a lot of it. Just how bad was his conversion rate from energy to power? If it took so much energy to produce so little power, and he had so little mana... he had to be the absolute worst mage the world had ever known.

"Aah, Percy, no good."

Lily needed to get him to the infirmary. She didn't have any healing spells, or any spells, really, but maybe the Apollo campers could help. Their healing wasn't really... magic. Maybe it could be called divine magic, but not really. It was fundamentally different, in that it manipulated power directly, rather than manipulating energy and converting it into power. They used their divine power directly to heal. It wasn't necessarily stronger than magic, and indeed, certain mages would be far more powerful, but an average mage couldn't compare to a child of the god of healing when it came down to it.

Damn him wearing armor all the time! He was so heavy!

Because a lot of people were doing activities, no one saw her and helped her, but she eventually managed to drag him to the infirmary. He'd started bleeding from his mouth like she had expected him to. He wasn't in mortal danger, but it would take him a long time to recover on his own.

When the Apollo campers saw him, they started laughing.

"Hahaha! He worked himself until he passed out again! That makes every day so far this week, right? What a guy. Hey, Liliana, why'd you bring him here? Oh, I guess you can't answer. Sorry, that was probably rude."

No, it's not rude to talk to someone! But that's not the issue here! How can you be so calm about this!?

"Listen, I assume you can hear me, right?"

Obviously, I'm not deaf, just mute.

"This guy is in here all the time, even though he knows he doesn't need it. Just chuck him in the ocean."

What!? Throw him in the ocean!?

Lily looked horrified.

"He's a son of Poseidon, remember? Salt water heals him faster than we ever could, he doesn't get wet unless he wants to, and he can breathe underwater. I promise you, the best thing for him is to throw him in the ocean. If you're worried, I'll carry him myself, alright?"

Lily looked very skeptical, but nodded.

The camper hurled Percy into the ocean like he was a sack of potatoes.

"Alright, Liliana, talk to... see you later! I guess the commander can understand you, since he can read minds, but don't hog him all to yourself, okay?"

Read minds!? Lily had never heard anything like that about Percy. No one told her anything, except for Nancy, but only because Nancy told everyone in the Hermes cabin how amazing he was. But she'd never mentioned that he was telepathic! Lily felt a bit guilty for just being around Percy while Nancy wasn't here.

Nancy was not with Percy today during the Hermes free slot, and she hadn't been all week. That was because she was... stupid. So she wouldn't flunk out of school next year, Chiron made her go to the Big House during her free period and have Argus teach her, with the rest of the delinquents. Lily wasn't sure how Argus could teach, since he had no mouth, but she respected him a lot for it. Argus couldn't talk, but people still talked to him. Why didn't they do the same with her? It wasn't fair.

If Percy hadn't made that speech about not relying on your parents, she probably would have defected by now. She'd been getting more and more and more lonely. She thought she'd be used to it, but she wasn't. Even after the speech, she'd still been thinking about it. But when Nancy started telling everyone about how amazing Percy Jackson was, and about how he accepted her even though she'd been mean to him, and how he was the most amazing guy on the planet, she felt like she couldn't leave. Not before finding out if it was true. Would Percy accept her?

Not only had he immediately accepted her, he'd understood her! He said he actually heard her talking... but somehow he always knew exactly what she was trying to say, even if she knew her incredibly limited vocabulary wasn't nearly enough to do the job. Was he really reading her mind? Should she ask?

As she was thinking about this, Percy stood up and walked onto the beach, totally dry.

"Woo, that was great. Oh, Lily, did you bring me here? Thanks a million."

She had to ask him.

"P-Percy! Percy know all Lily!?" (Percy! Can you read my mind!?)

"What!? Of course not! Who told you that!?"

Lily pointed at the sun and then back at camp.

"Oh, an Apollo camper? Did you take me to the infirmary, first? Still, why in Hades did they think I could read minds? Maybe it was a joke?"

Lily shook her head and said, "No. No other know, other know Percy yes know Lily. All Percy yes know all Lily." (No, it wasn't a joke. Everyone knows no one can understand me, but they knew you could for sure. They were certain you could understand me by reading my mind.)

"No way, they really thought that without hesitating? So they really truly believe I can read minds... Why isn't that one of the seven mysteries? Oh, maybe it's one of the ones no one tells me about. Yeah, I'd be scared to find out if someone could read my mind, too. I doubt I'd want them to tell me it was true."

"Percy good?"

"Oh, yes, thank you. Much better. Ready for round two!"

"No! No! Percy die!"

"Wait, seriously? That almost killed me? Why is that?"

"Percy small small small magic. Percy bad bad bad magic. Percy magic die no magic." (You have next to no mana, and you're terrible at converting it into power. When you cast a spell it uses your life force if you don't have enough mana.)

"Seriously? That sucks. I must be the worst mage of all time, huh?"

"Yes yes."

"Hey, don't say 'definitely' so seriously! I was joking! If even I can use it, a lot of people probably can, right? And if lots of people can do it, surely there must be at least one person who's worse at it than me, right?"

Lily shook her head. "No Lily, no *points at camp* magic." (Excluding me, no one in camp is a mage.)

"Seriously!? You're the only person at camp who can use magic!? Why am I so special!?"

Percy was thinking to himself that it wouldn't even make him proud of himself at this point. Wasn't it definitely cheating to be so lucky!?

"Percy no other. Percy magic bad bad bad, no magic other." (There's just no one like you. Your magic skill is gods awful, but no one else can use it at all.)

"You keep saying I'm awful at magic. Surely there's more to it than just learning spells, right? Can I increase my mana?"

Lily said, "Magic," then pointed at her head. "Percy no all know, Percy small good magic." (Magic is all about your mind. If you meditate and clear your mind, you'll slowly be able to increase your mana stores.)

"So I just have to meditate, huh?" Percy said while scratching his chin.

Lily squinted at him, and stretched her arms way out, then pointed at herself, and said, "Small."

"Huh? It'll take years for me to even come close to you? Well that makes sense. You're the daughter of the goddess of magic."

Lily smiled, grabbed Percy's hand, and pointed at camp.

"Fine, I'll introduce you to my friends, but you can't hold my hand. People will think we're an item."

Lily stuck out her tongue, as if to say 'yuck,' then said, "Percy good brother."

"What? I'm like your older brother? But we're the same age!"

Lily smiled slyly and said "No."

Percy put his finger to his lips and said 'shhh!' He hoped it seemed like he was joking. If not, well, it's not like she was able to spill the beans.

After Percy went around explaining he could hear Lily, and he'd be translating for her when he could, which everyone received well, saying things like,'she's so adorable I always wanted to be her friend, but I was afraid she wouldn't like me if I kept misunderstanding her,' he decided he was going to try to meditate. It really felt like it was cheating to be able to do so much, but if it would help him beat Kronos, he would take any power he could.

Percy kept trying to meditate, but as soon as he stopped thinking, something else would distract him. This marked the first of many days that Percy failed to meditate.

Every day, Percy would train his sword skills, deal with spies, walk around with Lily, translating for her, and Nancy would follow him around and talk to the new companion of Percy, though for some reason she couldn't bring herself to see the adorable girl who was the same age as Percy and her as a threat.

Percy eventually found out that the reason Lily lived here her whole life was her father had died in an accident during the few days of Hecate's pregnancy. (Goddesses are only pregnant with demigods for about a week.) She'd never been outside camp, so he did his best to explain things like fast food, cell phones, television, video games, school, banks, and all manner of things. She learned quickly, but she expressed no real desire to leave her home. She said that now that people talked to her, she never wanted to leave.

Summer was more than half over when Percy finally managed to meditate successfully. He had often started truly meditating, only to be so excited that he started thinking again. But this night was special. It was as if meditation suddenly clicked. Unfortunately, it made him very sleepy, so he wasn't really sure how long he'd done it for. At least half an hour, he thought. When he woke up, he had a splitting headache.

When Lily saw him she didn't have a reaction, but when he asked her to look closely at his mana, she did see it had grown slightly. Hmm, to rank his mana...

Well, in RPG terms, Lily was like a level 10 mage, where Circe was a level 100 mage. Percy was still a level 0 mage. If Lily had 100 mana, then Circe had 100,000 mana. An ordinary demigod has roughly 1 mana. Percy had started with about 0.1 mana. With the progress he made that night, his mana had risen to approximately...

0.11 mana.

Lily had somehow explained that the headache was kind of like when after you exercise, the next day when your muscles were really sore. If you exercised when your muscles were still aching, you'd destroy the gains of the previous day, so Lily warned him not to meditate while his head hurt at all.

When he went to bed that night, it no longer hurt nearly as bad, but it still hurt, so he went to bed without meditating. The next day however, he meditated until he passed out, and woke up with a headache of similar strength.

Lily evaluated it. About 0.12 mana.

So, if it took him two days to increase his mana by .01, then if he meditated as much as possible, how long would it take for him to reach the mana level he should have been born with? About six months. So then, how long would it take for him to reach Lily's mana level?

Almost fifty years.

Still, he didn't need to be at Lily's level for him to have a slight edge in a fight with Kronos. Maybe he could learn enchantments, or like buffs and stuff? He didn't have to use attack magic.

But then Lily explained something else to him.

His energy to power conversion was abysmal. Ludicrously bad, even. Compared to his conversion rate, his mana deficiency seemed laughably normal. If it stayed at the level it was at, it would take Percy at least 100 mana to cast 'Release,' which was the weakest spell anyone could think of, with no combat potential whatsoever. Its original use was just figuring out which type of power a mage's body was most comfortable with, by making it release a minuscule amount of power. That 'minuscule amount' had very nearly killed Percy.

Percy thought he'd start crying then and there, but apparently there was a way to raise that, as well.

Percy excitedly asked Lily to explain it to him. She indicated it would be very very dangerous for Percy.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't care about stuff like that. What is it?"

"Percy go magic."

"Huh? Just use 'Release?' How will that help?"

Lily explained that it was basically practice makes perfect. Normally, to train your body to convert energy to power more efficiently, you'd cast the most powerful spell you know. The more powerful the spell, the better the practice. No one would even think to consider using a spell like 'Release' to train their efficiency.

Lily said it would take years for him to bring his up to average using 'Release.'

But she also told him that his meditation would have more of an effect once he increased his conversion rate. Percy got excited.

As soon as he had free time, he went to the ocean and dove in. His plan was perfect.

He'd cast 'Release' while underwater, and then the water would heal him and bring his mana back up. As soon as he wasn't tired anymore, he'd cast it again. Though it took him about ten minutes every time, in just two hours he accomplished what would have taken two weeks if he wasn't a son of Poseidon. This was because if he couldn't heal himself immediately, it would probably take him all day to recover. He couldn't think of any other camper with self regeneration powers. Now he really felt like he was cheating. He felt bad. Really bad. But he would do anything to beat Kronos. He would suffer endless pain to save his friends from that monster. Embarrassment over his luck was almost literally nothing compared to what he was willing to do.

But he wasn't really sure if it was working. He still passed out every time he cast the spell, so he couldn't judge how well he was doing, or if he was improving at all.

The spies were very confused when Percy didn't let them in that night. Luckily, Percy had given them instructions on what to do if he didn't open the door for them. It wouldn't affect his counter-espionage program in any way.

Percy didn't open the door because he was still in the ocean. He spent all day and all night trying to improve himself. After 14 hours, the equivalent of three months if he wasn't a son of Poseidon, he finally, finally didn't pass out. He was still tired as all hell, and could barely move until the water healed him, but he was still conscious, without trying to hold on to it.

Soon, people were getting a bit restless because their commander was never around, except during breakfast, dinner, and occasionally going around with Nancy and Lily.

The two girls were starting to get angry at him. They complained that he never spent time with them, but he countered with 'What kind of a commander would I be if I didn't train as hard as I can every day? When you want to hang out with me but I'm not there, train instead. Lily, you can practice magic, and Nancy, you practice archery. Nance, when you get good enough that you can hit the bullseye 10/10 times from 50 yards away **(A/N that's like fucking impossible, that's why he said it)** , you can train with knives. Lily, you're the one teaching me about training for magic, so you know what you can do.' They didn't have the heart to complain too much. He was pushing himself to the absolute limit every day, so they couldn't really complain all that much. Every day, he trained by himself with the sword, by himself with magic, dealt with spies, and helped other people with their training. He looked like a zombie every day at breakfast, and even worse at dinner. But he showed no signs of stopping. His body almost couldn't handle it.

After Percy had trained his conversion rate for about 100 hours, which was the equivalent of nearly two years if he took an entire day to cast it once, he finally decided to try meditating again. Of course, now he could cast it as quickly as every two minutes underwater, but he would have the same growth if he wasn't a son of Poseidon, so the hour to week conversion was still fairly accurate.

When Lily evaluated him, his mana had gone from 0.12 to 0.14. _  
_

Percy had started calling Lily 'Sis,' and she called him 'Bro.' He had told her he was indeed older than his body suggested, but never elaborated any further than that.

"Not that much older, mind you," he said.

Lily could tell he wasn't old enough to be her father, but he was more an a couple years older than her. And she also knew that he seemed even older than he really was, even in his head. He must have seen a lot of horrible things.

It was not only Percy who was improving in magic. Lily had started meditating as well. The same way Percy was with knowing things about water intuitively, Lily knew things about magic for no good reason. She found that as she meditated, she was able to find out about different spells. Percy had seen her shoot lightning out of her hands, strong enough to light the straw dummy on fire after blowing a hole through it. She said she'd also figured out how to increase her physical strength, though she didn't have much aptitude for that kind of magic, and other things. Since Percy would probably die if he tried to use any spell other than 'Release,' he figured he didn't need to try to memorize everything she'd learned.

By the end of summer, Percy's mana had increased to 0.30.

The bead for the year was an eye. It represented the new pride the campers had in the intelligence situation. The speech Percy gave during that one fateful lunch had affected everything about camp. How could he have known a certain fishy god had surreptitiously temporarily imbued him with powerful magics that made people more likely to open their hearts to him? Though, immediately after that speech, the magic had worn off.

Percy had originally wanted to stay year round to train. He tried to convince himself Tyson would forgive him for abandoning him, since he would definitely save him in the end, but he just couldn't do it.

When he went back to school, Percy trained. All the time. Not just after school, either. In school, he improved his lie detection skills, and his skill in using stealth, but the training he usually did was something he called 'water detection.' As a son of the ocean, Percy felt a connection to all water. If it wasn't seawater, it was very hard to detect, but not even approaching impossible. First, Percy spent every second in class honing this skill. If he concentrated, he'd be able to find any water, even freshwater. Originally, he had only wanted to do this as a means to procure weapons more easily, no matter the battlefield. However, once he had trained this skill, he realized there were tiny water signatures all over. He originally thought it was moisture in the air, but one day, when everyone else had left class but him, he found out. The tiny water signatrues were gone. It was people. He could sense people. Even though the body is somewhere around 70% water, it was almost always mixed with something else. For the same reason something like grape juice was very hard to detect, people were even harder to detect. Even after spending every day in school honing it, he could still only detect where someone was roughly, within ten feet or so. He must improve.

Every other day, Percy meditated until he passed out, barely even noticing the brutal migraines that someone else might not have had to stay home from school because of. It was his immense willpower that allowed him to do it. Anything that could help him destroy Kronos once and for all, he pursued relentlessly. Every time he wanted to give up, he saw that scene in the throne room, where Kronos had toyed with him. He hadn't stood a chance.

He also cast 'release' but without a source of seawater, that training was limited.

Every single day after school, without fail, he practiced using Anaklusmos and Body Odor at the same time. While was still more skilled with just one of them, he was at a moderate level of skill with two. Of course, moderate for him was along the lines of legendary for an ordinary swordsman. But Percy had seen Kronos's strength. His scale was quite skewed. Luckily, swordsmanship came much more easily to him than magic. He also practiced specific techniques with one and both swords. The one he was most proud of was his instant-draw technique for Body Odor. In order to maximize the effectiveness of surprise attacks, he had practiced drawing Body Odor from its sheath and then immediately either stabbing or slashing. He could do it with either hand. Putting both hands together, he estimated he practiced the technique roughly 500,000 times. This may seem like an exaggeration, but for three months straight, every single day, for 8 hours, he fired the technique off once every five seconds. The math worked out.

The Dodgeball Match of Death with Babycakes and co. was still a tough fight, since Percy decided not to use his swords, but he managed to keep the damage to his body at a tolerable level. When he returned to camp, Tantalus was not there. Looks like the Titans hadn't been informed of the cameras after all. It was clearly shown that Luke was the one who poisoned the camp. As such, there were no chariot races, and morale was kept up. Far fewer demigods had defected this time, that was good. Percy made a mental note of who had not returned this year, so he could keep a closer eye on them next lifetime.

Tyson's reception was... not great. It was better than originally, since Percy vouched for him, as well as reminding everyone of the underwater cyclopes forges. Without Tantalus's egging on, the campers were more afraid than hateful.

Grover had gotten trapped, in the exact same way. Doofus, Percy thought.

His mana level had grown tremendously.

When he left camp it was 0.30, but when he got back, Lily excitedly told him it had risen to 3.50. She remarked it was incredible he had the willpower to have a splitting headache every other day without fail. Normally one would not meditate until they passed out. Percy was crazy. If he'd been a normal mage, he'd have grown an incredible amount. But he was not a normal mage.

Neither was she. Her mana had doubled, and she knew way more spells. Hecate had even claimed her while Percy was away. She was probably around level 15, if one were still using RPG terms. Once Percy learned a spell that could do something, he might be level 1. Maybe. With his gods awful conversion rate, he wasn't able to do much, even with more mana.

The quest went much the same way, with Nancy instead of Annabeth. Everything Annabeth could do with her cap, Nancy could do with her stealth. And anything Annabeth knew, Percy remembered. With Ares influencing Clarisse to regain his honor, though she didn't know that, she made the same mistakes as before. In almost every situation on the quest, Percy's hands were tied somehow. Although, since no one died, it didn't matter all that much. All's well that ends well.

He didn't use magic during the quest. No one at camp knew about it, either. They sort of just assumed he could turn invisible, and when no one can find him(because he's in the ocean practicing magic), it's because he's standing right behind you. He's a demigod among demigods at camp.

Then, Thalia came back to life, and stuff. And he keeps practicing. She doesn't get on his nerves at all. Not much happens that summer, other than everyone getting stronger.

With no reason to go to school, i.e. Tyson, who left for the forges after giving Percy the watch shield, Percy decides to stay year round, at least until he knows that the Di Angelos were found.

* * *

 **Haha, so, sorry it kind of fell apart at the end, there. Seriously, whenever I think of SoM I just lose all enthusiasm. I like reading the book, obviously, it's great, but there's just nothing new in it other than Tyson. I'd just be rehashing the same shit. Percy is great at swords, Percy is smart, Percy knows just what to 'd take me months to write it, and it would be bad. If you were looking forward to that quest, I humbly apologize, but I assure you that if I wrote it, it would have been a travesty. I really want to make this chapter 8000 words, so I'll just keep repeating the same nonsense as right now. Seriously I just want it to be 8000 words, because it's chapter 8. Chapter 7 was 7000 words, so... Did it.  
**

 **Just... forget about SoM.**

 **Please tell me what you thought of the chapter! Next time it's Titan's Curse!**


	9. Percy Screams at a Ghost

**Upon reading several 200k+ word fics, I have become more sure than ever of the reason why they often degenerate into unreadable nonsense. It's simple. They get too complicated. In the author's quest to come up with something new and unique, they are forced to rely on ever-increasingly convoluted plotlines and rule changes and outrageous new settings that get more and more ridiculous. When it comes down to the heart of the matter, the end all be all reason that long fics degenerate is this: The summary of the story no longer truly applies to it. For example, take Everlasting Promises by Starblade176. The summary is basically this: Percy is betrayed by Annabeth, swears himself by Chaos, and has to deal with the 'consequences.' It goes on to mention eventual Pertemis. So, I have a question for you all, faithful readers: Just what the hell is going on by the end of that story!?**

 **Have no fear, readers, I will write through and describe Titan's Curse in excruciating detail.**

 **So, I plan on ending this with the defeat of Kronos, then I'll make a sequel(I guess). I doubt this story will go on for absurd lengths of words, since my battle scenes tend to be more 'realistic' than most (Before you get your knickers in a twist, allow me to explain. On a real battlefield, one on one clashes are normally determined in one to two hits, unless both fighters are utmost masters[which wasn't likely unless they were a standing army and their country could afford to pay for its soldiers even in peacetime so they could train for battle, think Sparta vs. Athens, soldiers vs. militia, though I suppose if you're unfamiliar with history this is utterly pointless], but even in a fight between masters, one to two hits becomes six to seven hits, watch fencing in the olympics, where matches go to like twenty points because it's so easy to get hit and die. No one is playing around. If the skill is the same, luck ends the battle, and one of them dies. Otherwise, the stronger one wins. Unless the arms and armor give one side a marked advantage, strength and technique will end the conflict in a matter of seconds. Battles take a long time only if there are thousands of troops). The point is, you may have noticed that my battle scenes don't ever take very long (chronologically, remember how Ares was defeated in a single lucky strike? Yeah, Ares spent about a hundred times longer talking about adamantium armor and how cool it is than actually fighting), and if I can, I like to describe each strike, because other fight scenes I've read... I just skip them. They're boring. People go through countless pointless strikes before finally, something happens. Then it doesn't even have the decency to be over, it just keeps on going. I try to avoid that by making everything seem important. If one side is stronger, they will dominate. If they are equal, luck will tip the scales. I hope you will eagerly read to see in what manner the foe is disposed of. When they are equal, what bizarre coincidence will put a stop to the match?**

 **tl;dr: this ends after TLO and I'll make a sequel, this won't go on for five hundred thousand million words like some other people, and my fight scenes are much shorter than others because I like to try to keep it realistic, because when I read other fight scenes I honestly just skip them until I see the aftermath.**

 **But please, for the love of the gods, tell me if you skip my fight scenes. I just want to make the story better. Don't avoid telling me what's wrong with it just because you think it's good. Please 'review' the story if you leave a review. I'm begging you.**

 **Disclaimer: For the sake of the good old days, one of my first stories, I leave you with this disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally nothing. Not even my underwear-that was true at the time, now, not so much. It has been many a year since my first story, two accounts ago. I get better at things just by aging, which sounds fucking stupid, but it seems to be true. I mean, look at my old stories on this account. It hurts me to ask this, but read the stories I've marked as 'garbage, don't read.' See that you too can change from an okay writer to a great one, even if you doubt yourself! Well, perhaps I am not 'great' in comparison to professional authors, but I would have to say, without arrogance, this story is a work of art compared to my younger self's work. Maybe. I want to bury myself six feet underground when I read 'To Ponder a Wall' and 'Percy the Songbird.' I may rewrite the latter, as I've improved both in musical composition and writing efficacy, so maybe it won't be so damn awful. Damn, even my disclaimer has become a wall of text. I will endeavor to fix my habit of monologue-ing.**

* * *

Percy's mana had risen steadily since his second summer at camp ended, and his conversion rate was also going up, very quickly now that he was at camp with the ocean. Lily had also taught him the second weakest spell she knew, which Percy was luckily able to cast without passing out, though just barely. It was a magic light. The spell was just called 'Light' and it required about ten times as much power, and therefor mana(and in Percy's case also life force) as 'Release.' Percy's conversion rate training efficiency skyrocketed.

Oh, and all this stuff wasn't linear, Percy found out, so all those numbers he thought he understood were wrong. Magic was... very weird. It couldn't truly be compared using numbers. For how much mana someone had and how much power a spell would take, it was pretty much fine, but getting stronger worked very oddly. Lily told him he was about one hundredth of her in terms of overall rating as a mage. It was quite impressive, she told him. Considering how he had started out as the worst mage in the history of the universe. Percy thought it was more impressive she was capable of making jokes at all considering how she talked. It was actually surprising she still had a sense of humor at all, considering she was utterly alone for the first twelve years of her life. He was very proud of her for not being crushed. She would still occasionally look off into the distance for no reason other than loneliness, but it was a small price to pay.

To be clear, she said, it would be simple for her to take out one hundred Percy's, so it was not as though one hundred 1/100's were her equal. Rather, Percy would have to be one hundred times stronger to match her.

At any rate, it was winter break, and Percy was headed to Westover Hall, just like before. But this time, it was with Nancy, Thalia, and Lily.

Another difference was that they were in a Mercedes-Benz. Sally Jackson had used her wits and charm to convince Hades to let her leave with a handful of gold a jewels, which Percy was still utterly unable to explain. Due to the skyrocketing gold prices, the amount she was given, along with the immense gemstones, she became a millionaire. She began writing novels, and had even met a man, an English teacher by the name of Paul. Percy had been shocked to find that even with her life changing so much, she still managed to find Paul. Love had a terrifying power, to be sure.

It was the first time Lily had ever been outside camp before.

They were taking her along because she had learned a few spells that could enhance others effectiveness in battle, not just herself, not to mention her offensive power was nothing to sneeze at.

She was pressed up against the window most of the time, and somehow Percy had been convinced to sit in the middle, between Nancy and Lily.

"I'm the oldest, so obviously I'd be the one to sit up front," Thalia had said, casually calling shotgun.

But being squished was not good for Percy.

Nancy changed from cute, then to pretty, and now she was beautiful.

This was not good for Percy.

It scared Percy half to death. He had realized that he was on a sort of time limit. When would he stop letting himself be attracted to her?

 _When I'm thirty? Forty? I've got to finish this sooner, rather than later._

Lily was also probably beautiful, scratch that, definitely was, but she was still his 'Lil Sis.' He didn't for a second look at her in any other way. She'd learned a bunch of words, but still not nearly enough to be fluent. And, obviously no one was able to hear her but Percy in the first place.

Thalia had not taken well to hearing about Luke. But she believed it. Annabeth slowly going crazy was much harder for her. Annabeth wanted to leave camp, but she was never allowed. It was like cabin fever. She was finally able to leave to go to school with Thalia this fall, but she hadn't gotten any better. Always muttering to herself, always cooking up theories. She was watched discreetly 24/7 to make sure she didn't defect. She was still the Head of Athena cabin. Her intelligence would not be good if the enemy got her.

Sally Jackson was telling the girls every single embarrassing baby story there was to tell about Percy. Percy was certain she was doing it to punish him for staying year round this year. 'I know the campers need you as their commander, but I need you as my son,' she seemed to be telling him. His heart was breaking from not being able to see her, but he would do anything to rid the world of Kronos. No heartache was too intense, no feeling too strong for the will of Percy to quash in order to complete his training. He practiced dual wielding in his cabin in secret. He wished he could have trained his swordsmanship underwater, using the resistance to strengthen him, but he felt no such resistance underwater. Still, a small price to pay for all the benefits his heritage bestowed.

After the long and, for Percy, uncomfortable car ride, they finally arrived at their destination in Maine.

The quartet of demigods waved goodbye and walked toward the school. As soon as they were a foot in the entrance they were greeted by Thorn and the unbelievable Ms. Gottschalk.

Before Thorn could say a word, Percy drew BO from its sheath with lighting speed, stabbing him through the heart and ripping up towards the head, cutting him in two. He disintegrated. Amazingly though, he had actually started to block, and almost managed to get his hands up in time, which was crazy, because Percy's drawing technique was ridiculously fast. As a surprise attack, most enemies wouldn't even notice it until they were already dead, by Thorn had almost managed to block it. Truly terrifying, thought Percy. I must get even stronger.

Percy sheathed his sword, snapped, put his hands in his pockets, and told Gottschalk there never was a teacher with mismatched eyes. Additionally, the party of four were all students, and they were patrolling. They were headed to the dance. Gottschalk mumbled 'I see' and wandered off.

Percy had learned to manipulate the mist during his time at camp this autumn.

Thalia screeched at Percy.

"Percy! What the Hades is wrong with you!?" she yelled, while pushing him and pulling him by his shoulders. "What were you gonna do if he wasn't a monster, huh!?"

Percy kept his hands in his pockets, and turned his head to the side as Thalia was shaking him. "Jeez, Thals, it's not like it would've hurt him if he'd been mortal. But seriously, those multicolored eyes gave me a bad vibe. Wonder what kind of monster he was? Guess we'll never know, huh. Oh well, let's go find Grover."

Before they could act on that suggestion, the Grover in question ran into the hall, and shouted, "You made it! You guys, I was worried!"

"Yo, G-man, what's the emergency?" Percy asked nonchalantly, hands still in his pockets, still being shaken by Thalia. For some reason, Percy was trying to act all cool, a marked difference from his normal humble-yet-perfect personality. It didn't make any sense to the others, but it was Percy's way of preparing to deal with the hunters. He was trying to get all the 'I'm a cool dude' out now, so it wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass later.

"Two demigods."

"Seriously!?"

"Yeah, siblings, 10 and 12. Real strong, but I'm not sure of the parentage. And there's a scary strong monster, too. He's always blocking me when I try to get close to them."

"Did he have mismatched eyes?" Nancy asked flatly.

"Huh? Did you meet Cr. Thorn already?"

Thalia sighed and let go of Percy.

"He's dead."

Grover's face paled.

At the same time, Lily snickered and said, "Percy."

Said Percy halfheartedly karate chopped her on the top of her head and very quietly said, "Oi, don't use my name to mean 'stupid.' But Thorn is a damn stupid name, you are right."

"Perce, did you... already? None of you even look tired. He was like, only a bit under Chimera level."

Thalia looked pained, thought it wasn't obvious if she was faking it or not.

"Grover, why'd you assume it was Percy? It could've been me, right?" she asked, with a faux show of being hurt by Grover's lack of confidence. Ah, faking it, then.

The situation was so different from the first time, Percy felt like shouting 'What the heck is going on!?' but he did not do that. Still, the first time it had been Percy who felt hurt that Grover looked up to Thalia instead of him. Now he was the one getting looked up to, even though Thalia was nearly two years older than him. Well, actually he was two years older. He would've turned eighteen recently, maybe. He had lost track of exactly how many extra days there were because of the two previous deaths.

"Of-of course you could have, Thalia! Totally! But, it _was_ Percy, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, Percy killed him before he even said a word," Nancy answered.

"Well, let's go get them," Percy said, bored as Hades. He'd been feeling that way for years now. After a few months, only new people could make him feel any real emotion. Lily and Nancy were those new people. His heart broke when he thought about the fact they'd forget him when he inevitably had to start over. However, despite that sentiment, in the back of his mind, he was starting to get bored even when talking to people he'd never known before. If he had to guess, he would've said he felt bored because there weren't any stakes anymore. He was basically immortal, as far as he knew. How did gods deal with the boredom? He guessed that's why there were so many demigods.

"We'll sneak out through a gym exit, while Nancy goes and gets their stuff," he continued. "Sound like a plan?"

Everyone nodded.

When Thalia first woke up, she had initially expected that she'd be the one in charge, as a child of Zeus. But, after a month at camp, she knew why everyone called him 'commander.' It felt like it was impossible not to do what he told you. It was only his second year, but he was completely banned from Capture the Flag, even more so now that the Summer was over and there weren't as many campers playing. He wasn't even allowed to give advice. This was all on the grounds that, 'If the commander's on our side, it's impossible to lose. It's not a competition, it's a slaughter.' On top of that, even the Ares cabin followed his orders without question. Clarisse had said she'd never follow him into battle at the end of her quest, and always gave him a hard time, but it was only to save face. She'd do whatever he said if he told her she 'needed to.'

There was just something about the look in his eyes, sort of like Chiron, that told everyone, 'I know it'll go badly if you don't do what I say. I'm doing all this for you.' His sea green eyes were filled with compassion and warmth, yet were cold and calculating at the same time. But above all, they were filled with a sense of unbearable loneliness. The peculiarity of the ever-present conflicting emotions in Percy's eyes had been assimilated with the Seven Mysteries. It was easier to believe his eyes had a mystical power than believe what they saw within them. A certain few campers, Lee Fletcher, Silena, Beckendorf, and Pollux tq, had sworn that what they saw when they looked straight in his eyes was the message, 'I've seen you die.'

Of course, he had seen them die. And the reason his eyes screamed he was lonely was because he was certain these were not the people he would save. He didn't even approach the level of Kronos. These people would surely die at the hands of the Titan Lord. Percy couldn't be sure it was really time that reset. What if he was being sent to a different parallel universe, or something, and when he died, he was leaving all these people to die at the hands of Kronos? Annabeth had tried to explain such a theory to him once, but he only barely remembered. He only knew he had to defeat Kronos as quickly as possible.

After summer ended, Percy 'accidentally' discovered the entrance to the Labyrinth in Zeus's Fist. Chiron had been half delighted and half mortified when Percy explained his discovery. Delighted that they'd found it before any damage was done, mortified when he had to figure out how to seal it off. Investigations were still ongoing.

But all of these things were the furthest from Percy's mind as he walked fearlessly through the dance towards the di Angelos. Girls swarmed around him constantly, the feral beasts attracted to his confidence. Somehow, he seemed to be able to walk right through them. Truly frightening. Percy was focusing his entire being on his footwork, quickly advancing when he saw shifts in the mob's form. It was an incredibly advanced technique, and it had been taught to him by Nancy. Of course, he was not using the second part of the technique: stealing every penny of every person he came in contact with. In less than a minute, he reached the siblings.

"Hey, Bianca and Nico. You don't know me, but I'm a friend of Grover's. Want to follow me outside?" Percy said with a kind smile. Being mentally eighteen, it was extremely hard not to talk to the pair as if they were children. He was only supposed to be two years older than Bianca, after all.

"Uh, what? Who the heck are you!?" Bianca cried.

Percy leaned closer and said, "I know that was creepy, but this is seriously important. At least one of your parents are dead, and you've both seen strange things you tell yourself aren't real. For a random example, a bus driver with goat's horns. I can tell you about one of your parents, and about the strange things you've been seeing. Unless, you don't want to know?"

Nico started bouncing up and down, saying, 'I told you, I told you, I told you he had horns,' and Bianca said, "Umm. Uhhhhh... Oh, umm... alright, I guess. You promise you won't try anything funny?"

"Totally. No funny business from me. I'll give you the information, and then the decisions you make are your own. But I've gotta tell you, and its not exactly public knowledge, so if you don't mind?"

He nodded towards the emergency exit.

"Oh, but that's only for..."

"I can guarantee you this qualifies as an emergency."

The two reluctantly followed Percy outside, where Grover and two unfamiliar girls were waiting.

"Let's go a bit farther. This stuff could probably qualify as top secret."

As they got to the edge of the clearing outside, they noticed three girls in silver uniforms walking towards them, and the group stopped in their tracks. Percy clearly recognized Zoe and Phoebe, but it looked like he'd never met the third one. He quickly cursed under his breath. If Bianca became a camper this time, maybe he could keep her at camp. Nico would certainly cause fewer problems.

"That's wonderful," muttered Thalia, not even bothering to disguise her sarcasm, her tone of voice obviously indicating she was utterly pissed.

When Percy saw Zoe, his breath hitched and he had to keep himself from tearing up. She'd died a few feet away from him, after accepting him, even though she hated men. It would be foolish to say he felt nothing for her. She had become a good friend by the end of the quest, and it was still hard seeing the dead walk. Percy quickly tried to cover his mistake.

"Hmm, say, Thalia, do you think maybe the Hunters are upset we killed whatever that monster was?" Percy asked calmly, knowing they were indeed tracking the Manticore,

"Monster? Killed?" Bianca asked warily.

"I'll explain in a minute. These three are no joke. They belong to an organization with vast military power." Bianca gulped audibly and Nico thought it was the coolest thing ever. "Thalia, I know you should probably be the one to talk to them, as a girl and all, but you're clearly pissed at them for some reason. Forgive me, but I don't want that liability. I'm not belittling you, but with three males here it's no joke to call it a matter of life and death. I don't want my life in the hands of someone visibly upset. Lily can't talk to people besides me, so would you let me handle this? I got some tips from Chiron on how to handle them." He actually had gotten some tips, and not just so there were no loose ends. He became friends with Zoe on the quest, but he didn't really know the best way to avoid arrows to his posterior. Hunters apparently valued humility, so avoiding looking at them and showing clear submission was the best way to steer clear of their wrath.

Thalia bit her lip and nodded, albeit reluctantly.

"Then leave all the talking to me. As your commander, I swear I will not let you down."

This was a pretty big deal to people at camp. He always said things like, 'it should be possible,' I think, probably,' 'it seems as if,' and 'I seriously doubt that.' Even getting him to answer 'yes' or 'no' clearly was considered a great vote of confidence. The only two things he ever swore were that he would win the war, and his mother was the greatest living being. So when he swore he wouldn't screw up, it was serious fucking business.

The Hunters. Percy deeply respected Zoe, who had protected her mistress til her dying breath, but he thought the Hunters' overall message was pretty stupid. There were as many horrible women as horrible men, but society had painted women as not being capable of monstrous evil, unlike men. For a horrific example, would you instinctively see a man raping a women or a woman chaining up and raping a man as more inherently horrible? In his heart of hearts, Percy knew he found the man's actions more grotesque and evil, and firmly believed rape should be punished with death, though that was from from the actual law. But for some reason he could not explain why the woman raping the man was not seen by himself as equally bad.

At any rate, he knew it would be bad for him if he disrespected them. He wanted to make a good impression-no, that was impossible. He didn't want to make a terrible impression. That was the best you could hope for with the Hunters.

"Bianca, cover Nico's eyes so he won't see any of this stuff. Unless you want to take care of a jackalope instead of a brother from now on. Grover, start bowing, or something. They're not gonna be nice to you, just cuz you're a satyr."

Bianca tried to ask what he was talking about, but Lily put her finger on her lips and said 'shhhh!,' though Percy wasn't a hundred percent on whether it actually made any noise. Bianca covered Nico's eyes.

Percy looked down at the ground, to show that he wasn't 'witnessing the hunt' or whatever. It also doubled as him 'bowing his head.'

Also, he was perfectly capable of finding them, even with his eyes closed. The sound they made as they walked, combined with being able to sense the water in their bodies, let Percy figure out exactly where they were. Well, the two that weren't Zoe. She wasn't making a sound, so Percy only vaguely knew that she was still somewhere within five feet of the others. Percy had spent even more time after returning to camp honing his water sense, but it wasn't perfect yet.

When the three were right in front of them, it was Phoebe who spoke.

"Where did the Manticore go? You show no signs of battle. Have you hidden it?"

Percy had a third reason for lowering his head- so they wouldn't see him grinding his teeth.

When he gained his composure he said, "No, we have not hidden it from you. It was indeed killed by us. We humbly ask your forgiveness for taking your prize."

He heard Lily yell, "No other! Percy only! Percy, tell!" (It wasn't 'us!' Percy killed it by himself! Percy, tell them that!)

"Lily, please. They'd never believe it in the first place. And since they'd never believe it, it would only serve to make me sound more arrogant than they already assume me to be," Percy said, not loud, but enough for everyone to hear. He didn't want the Hunters thinking he was trying to hide anything, but he was also trying to show defiance. The sea did not like to be restrained. The sea bowed for no man.

Though, they were women.

Percy had assumed they wouldn't be able to understand her, because even though plenty of new demigods had been found (and plenty had defected), Percy remained the only one who could understand her. Even Chiron had no idea what she sounded like.

But he was wrong. As he prepared to explain what had transpired, he heard Zoe say, "Is that true? He hath truly slain the beast without aid?"

Percy was so surprised he brought his head up to look at Zoe, and was so surprised he almost gasped.

Had Zoe really been this pretty the first time around? He mentally shook his head. He shouldn't even _think_ that about a Hunter. That was probably why he had forgotten her beauty in the first place.

"O-Other Percy know!? How!?" (Someone besides Percy can hear me? How's that possible!?)

"Ah, I see. Thou art a child of Hecate. They can only be understood by those with the capacity for magic, such as myself. But 'twould mean this _boy_ can use magic, would it not? This is quite irregular. I cannot recall a single one."

Percy was shocked. Firstly, Zoe could use magic? If she had thousands of years, as an immortal hunter, should she not be an amazing mage by now? Hmm... Secondly...

"Really? If even Zoe cannot recall a male mage..." Percy said. He had stopped looking down, it was too annoying to not be able to see others' facial expressions.

Phoebe suddenly shouted, " _Boy!_ How do you know her name!? Are you spying on the Hunt?"

Percy' face lost its color. Crap! He misspoke! He was so shocked by what she had said that he forgot she hadn't introduced herself. Think fast, Percy! Yes! Some of the campers had told stories of the Lieutenant of the Hunt being as terrifying as he was, and also undefeated in capture the flag.

"Perish the thought! Ignoring that spying on the Hunt would be essentially impossible, it is just that Zoe is very famous in camp as one whose skill in battle is matched only by her hatred of males! As expected of the one who has never lost a match of capture the flag. All those who recalled the, erm, incident that arose, said they wished they were allowed to ban her from the game, as well!"

 _Good gods, man! Why in Hades am I speaking so formally! And am I_ trying _to sound as arrogant as possible!? Why'd I bring up wanting to ban her,_ 'as well'!? _That'll only invite questions as to what I'm talking about. Aargh, I tried to praise her but only ended up sounding like I was trying to sneak in how strong I am, too! It sounds more like a request to duel than praise!_

Despite Percy's worrying, Phoebe and the other one seemed satisfied by his panicked explanation. Zoe herself, not so much. She looked as if she were very wary of him.

"Enough foolishness. Pray tell us how the beast was destroyed with nary a scratch on thy persons?" Zoe asked.

"Er, well, I noticed him before he was prepared for battle. He was still in his human form," Percy said, hoping the truth was acceptable.

Phoebe interrupted, "But, isn't the Manticore just as strong in his human form? How could-"

As she was talking, Percy heard a helicopter closing in on them, fast. Mortal bullets were still deadly to demigods, so he had to act quickly.

He shouted as she was talking, "Airborne mercs, on our three! Prepare to receive fire! Lily, legs!"

When he said that, Thalia activated Aegis, and hid Grover and the kids behind it. Lily cast a spell on Percy, then herself. She had enhanced her own defense, and vastly increased Percy's leg strength.

The hunter he didn't recognize started to move when Percy had given the orders, but stopped herself. His skill to lead troops even caused a total stranger and mortal enemy of men to want to obey his orders.

As soon as Percy stopped giving orders, Zoe gave hers. "Prepare for evasive action. Hold fire until their intent is clear."

 _No, Zoe! I need those mercs to say the word general! I cannot pretend my spies in the Titan Army know everything!_

"Zoe, I respectfully request for you to hold your fire indefinitely. I wish to interrogate them. I will apologize appropriately when the situation returns to normal, and you may do whatever you wish to the occupants of the craft after they have served my purposes."

Zoe thought about this, and seemed just a tiny bit surprised, possibly at Percy's politeness. Boys were not usually so. She had met plenty that were, though, so it was not shocking. Merely... somewhat surprising. Besides, his request seemed reasonable.

"I accept thy request. Hunters, focus solely on evasive actions. Leave discussion for times of peace. These art my orders as Lieutenant."

Percy could not help but admire the way she gave orders. Percy did not ever fully understand why everyone listened to him, so he could freely admire her skill without comparing it to his.

"Thanks a million," he said.

A few seconds later, as the helicopter got closer to the cliff, Percy jumped with all his might. With the boost from Lily, he was able to shoot up right to the chopper. The pilots were so surprised that they didn't have time to speak before he pulled one out, then the other. With seemingly practiced ease, he jumped off the chopper with a pilot in either arm, and slammed back down to the ground. With his superior legs, he was able to cushion his fall perfectly, but that didn't change the fact that his momentum needed somewhere to go. His landing caused a significant noise. The two men passed out from shock, and though they came to immediately, they were still dazed. The helicopter crashed into the cliff below them and fell into the ocean.

"Thanks, Sis. That spell is just so useful! You're so strong! I'm proud of you!"

If Percy wasn't carrying two full grown men, and it wouldn't have ruined her 'do, Percy would have ruffled Lily's hair. He was much taller than her now, so he'd been doing it more and more. He was essentially 18 now, so his brotherly instincts were telling him to shower her with praise and affection.

A strange thing had happened to him recently. Percy was sure that he had not had a growth spurt at this age in his previous life. However, he was certainly experiencing a growth spurt now. He was 5' 8", which was fairly tall for a fourteen year old. No, it was very tall. In contrast, Lily was only 4' 10", and seemed much younger than she was. Plenty of girls didn't get much taller than 5', and they also typically stopped growing by high school, so Percy doubted she was ever going to hit 5'.

But why was he so tall? He was sure he was only somewhere around 5' 5" at this time originally. Annabeth had been taller than him when he first came to Westover. It was extremely unsettling. Was it magic? His mind? His training accelerating it? Whatever the answer, it was very very odd.

"Thanks!" Lily said.

Oddly enough, Zoe found interest in this. Percy had barely remembered, but it was him who'd taught her how to say that word, over a year ago. He couldn't remember what she'd used instead, though.

"Oh? Pray tell, did this _boy_ teach you that word? It is common knowledge that daughters of Hecate use the word 'love' in place of words of gratitude. I would have assumed a _boy_ would have preferred this term. Tell me, is he a eunuch, perchance?" **(A/N: A eunuch is a man whose genitals were removed so he could guard a king's harem without fear that he would try anything.)**

Lily was flabbergasted by this, but even if she hadn't been, Percy would have spoken first. He had been prepared for a lot of things, but he had definitely not prepared for a question like this.

"I am absolutely not! Ahem. Please forgive me for speaking out of turn. You asked Liliana, not me. However, I can assure you that she could not have known the answer to that question."

Zoe thought for a second before speaking. "Thou art forgiven. Truly, it is a shame. As far as _boys_ go, at first glance thou do seem to be one of the better ones, though that is saying little to nothing. Even so, if thee were to proudly say thee removed thy genitalia by thine own hand, I am sure that at least half of the Hunt would not be openly hostile towards thee."

Percy was certain she had not said this for comedic effect. She was not like that. No, this was her honest opinion.

"I see. I regret to say that I am averse to abandoning anything I have not had the chance to use even once, so I suppose I will remain the enemy of all women in the eyes of the Hunt for many years. At any rate, I think it is time to interrogate these men."

Phoebe had started silently laughing when he made his comment about being a virgin, though he assumed it would be obvious he would be one, since he was only fourteen. Perhaps the Hunters have skewed views of these things, being immortal 10-14 year olds themselves. Percy paused before continuing.

"I will begin at once. Any who do not wish to witness something unpleasant should avert their eyes and cover their ears until further notice."

Something about being around Zoe was making him talk like he was a thousand years old himself. When had he started sounding so mature?

Bianca shut her eyes tight and covered her ears, and said, "Nico, these people are crazy! Cover your ears as well!"

Percy realized he hadn't explained the situation to them, but, luckily, Nancy had just arrived with their things.

Percy called to her, "Ah, Nancy, perfect timing. Can I leave the explanations to you? Of course, I take it the Hunters will definitely want a chance to speak to a new recruit, so please do not hesitate to send Bianca to them after you explain all their options."

"Of course, Perce!"

The girl Percy did not recognize muttered, "Purse? What in gods' names is she talking about?"

Everyone else stayed and watched Percy.

 _Is it alright if I'm as brutal as I want to be? They're men, and I know for a fact Artemis would have turned them into birds if I hadn't intervened, so I doubt the Hunt will mind. I know Lily has a messed up sense of morality since no one said a word to her for twelve years, and she just hadn't been taught right from wrong appropriately, so she wouldn't mind. That just leaves Thalia. I don't know how she'll react at all. Should I entice them or beat the truth out of them? Ehh, I'll threaten them first. Though even that feels messed up, since I'm certain the Hunters won't just let them walk away from here._

Percy threw the men to the ground. He had been training his muscles nonstop. With the boost from being a demigod, he was easily strong enough to pick up a man with one hand, though he couldn't throw them around like dolls, just yet. Ah, why hadn't he done this the first time? Why had he been so content to remain weak?

Percy took both their pistols, holstered on their sides, made sure they were loaded, disengaged the safety, and then slapped both of them with the handles of the guns. He pressed the barrels to the bridges of their noses, right between their eyes.

"WAKE THE HELL UP, SHITS!" Percy roared.

Though they were already awake, they seemed to have recovered from their state of shock after this shout was directed at them. Oh no. He has our guns. We're so dead.

They nodded vigorously to show they understood. Percy kept the barrels at their heads.

"WHO HIRED YOU! ANSWER ME, OR I'LL BLOW YOUR GODDAMN BRAINS OUT!"

Thalia seemed to be having trouble digesting how the gentle Percy had transformed into this monster in an instant.

Lily seemed to think this was perfectly normal.

Percy couldn't read the Hunters' perfect poker faces.

"It-It was... It was somebody called the general, I think, maybe! They never told us, but it seemed like his most direct subordinates called him that!" shouted the mercenary on the right, in a desperate bid for life.

Hmm, so he thinks Atlas won't be able to find and kill him if he learns he revealed this information. That, or he was just more worried about this terrifying kid.

Percy felt a great deal of dislike for what he was currently doing. Sure, he didn't plan on lying to him, but they were expecting to come out of this alive, if he didn't kill them. They were mercenaries, they had probably killed innocent people for money before. Even if they hadn't, they themselves were prepared to die for the money they so wanted. Percy felt sick to his stomach, but he would do anything to defeat Kronos. Anything, to protect his family.

Percy couldn't help but notice Zoe's pale face as he said, "Yes, that's what my sources have told me as well. You may yet live, merc on the right. What about you, merc on the left? Do you wish to continue living? If so, tell me what your exact orders have been up to this point."

"W-well, we only just got hired, so these are our only orders: Head to this location at this time, and follow the further orders of the one who calls himself 'Thorn.'"

"Fascinating. By the way, I will not censure you, so please tell me what you think of the name 'Thorn.' Do not worry, he is already thoroughly dead."

Percy was not entirely sure what possessed him to ask this, but he'd been thinking about this for four years.

Merc on the Left looked a bit pained, and squirmed, before shouting, as though someone would stop him, "I think it's absolutely fucking stupid! Only a total airhead would call themselves something so blatantly cool! It's too cool to be normal, so much so that it just comes off sounding fucking ridiculous! Why not just call yourself 'Lightning Shadow Knight' or 'Explosive Darkness Emperor!?' It's just lunacy! Totally insane!"

Percy agreed completely.

"Good answer, Merc on the Left. Okay, Merc on the Right! Last question! Give a satisfactory answer, and I swear I shall not harm you in any way. What was to be your payment?"

"It-it was 200, sir! 50 before we got orders, 150 after one full year! Every year after that would be 200 annually as well! It-It was a three year contract! At New Years, they were to pay us the 150!"

"I see. That lines up with what my sources say," Percy said calmly. He was lying through his teeth, though he did have a few spies. "I'll be keeping your weapons. NOW GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SIGHT, FILTHY MERCENARIES!"

The two got up immediately, thanked Percy over and over for their benevolence, and ran off.

Almost.

When they were a hundred yards away, a single silver arrow sprouted from the backs of each of their heads.

The Hunt was unforgiving.

Percy registered real surprise. "Oh? Your arrows are not magic silver? I suppose for arrows it is alright, but for bladed weapons... Well, if only the edge.. but then... At any rate, I should thank you for disposing of those two. I did not want to be forced to break my oath."

Zoe had a much sharper tone now than before. He remembered with a chill that Zoe was capable of joking around, if only the smallest bit. It seemed there had been a miscalculation.

"Wherefore did thee mention thy 'sources?' Dost thee hath no regard for the lives of thy spies? What would thee hath done if thy spies had been compromised, filthy man-garbage!?" Zoe said with a look of clear disdain, much more than usual.

But it was Percy's turn to be upset. His eyes glinted darkly.

"It seems there has been an issue in communication. I never for a second had any intention of letting those two mercenaries live. In any case, letting the opposing army know we had spies would not have done anything but _help_ us. They surely already suspect there are spies in their midst. I personally trained the spies we sent, and if I did not have absolute confidence in their ability to remain hidden, I would never have sent them. It is clear that the enemy do not understand espionage very well, as every spy in our camp was comically inept, to the point where it was a chore to deal with all of them. I doubt they would know what to look for in a professional spy, or I would have at least found some trace of professionalism in a single one of their own spies. As such, forcing the enemy to consider which of their troops are spies will only sow seeds of distrust amongst themselves. You, Zoe Nightshade, eternal Lieutenant of the Hunt of Artemis, are far my senior in experience with fighting and managing troops, but deceit based espionage is my absolute specialty. I bow to you in stealth based espionage, as well as group unity and obviously the skill of your long range attacks, but I would ask you to familiarize yourself with the basics of infiltration based espionage before you accuse me of not caring for my troops! I would sacrifice myself one hundred times for every single man and woman under me! I do not care if you insult me, I don't care if you think I'm garbage, but if you doubt my faith in my spies, it is akin to doubting them for trusting me! And _that_ I cannot allow! Drag me through the mud if you wish, but I WILL NOT ALLOW MY LOYALTY TO MY SUBORDINATES TO BE QUESTIONED!" Percy roared at the former member of the Hesperides.

Zoe had a terrifying look in her eye and opened her mouth to retort, when-

"Zoe, I apologize for my shameful display of disrespect. I apologize for my emotional outburst. I have no excuse," Percy said, having lowered himself to the ground, touching the dirt with his head in the ultimate show of subservience. He was not wrong, but he needed to count on the strength of the Hunt to have any chance of keeping his city safe in the final battle. He also needed to see if it was possible to have Zoe forgive him for something like this, but he also, in the heat of the moment, forgot that he would not succeed this lifetime. His untameable nature was roaring in his ears, telling him not to bow to anyone, and his blood boiled to the point of pain, but his loyalty to the ones he loved overruled it. Time to bring out the big guns. Every single ounce of his pride was worthless compared to the safety of even a single one of his friends. To save the life of even a single resident of Manhattan, Percy would bark like a dog, though he would hardly be happy about it. It was time to put Chiron's teachings to good use.

Using every deferential mannerism he knew, he said, "This one has no right to ask anything of one such as yourself, but this one begs you will not transfer your hate for him to the rest of his troops. Your ordinary level of hatred is perfectly tolerable. This one wishes more than anything that his own ineptitude will not affect his subordinates. Though this one could never compare to you, this one is sure you could understand that sentiment."

Fire burned through his veins as his wild nature threatened to overwhelm him, but he would endure endless, limitless pain to save his friends. For even the chance to save his friends. He did not raise his head to see her expression, but he could practically hear the stern look on her regal face when she asked, "Art thou called Perseus Jackson?"

He raised his head out of surprise. He instantly dropped his show of deference, all signs of his former absurdly intense act of submission gone in an instant. For a second he thought about how odd it was that she had made 'called' into two syllables, 'call-ehd', but he quickly dismissed the thought.

"Yeah, that's me. Why do you ask?"

Zoe sighed.

"My Lady wishes to speak to thee."

* * *

 **Lolwut?**

 **Sorry if Zoe sounds stupid, I did the best I could. Everyone else seems to ignore her old time-y speech, but it was one of the original things that drew me to the character. In this story, she will not drop her way of speaking! No matter what!**

 **Because the first A/N was so enormous, I'll make this one short.**

 **How'd you like it? Was it okay?**

 **Even though it's over 8,000 words, it seems like literally nothing happened. But, a lot of it was additional exposition, so there's that.**

 **Please, please, please tell me if there's anything you think could have been done better. It would be a huge help if you could tell me what you liked the most, what you liked the least, and gave a suggestion as to what I could include in the future. I really want this story to be shaped by the people who read it, but I'm really stubborn so just a few reviews won't change my mind. Interesting suggestions are always welcome! In case you're wondering, I do read every word of every review.**

 **Feel free to PM me if you have any questions. I do get an email if you send one, so even if you're reading this in five years and it looks like I've abandoned the site, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have.**

 **Additionally, reviews telling me to update soon do help a little, but sending a PM as well would also probably motivate me. Mostly because I have no friends~ That sounds like some sort of desperate ploy, doesn't it~ Oh yeah, so you know, ending a sentence with a tilde(~) as punctuation is sort of like it's said with a friendly tone, sort of? I can't really explain it. Oh, well~**


	10. Percy Doesn't Act His Age At All

**I've been gone for half a year. That's a long time to wait for a mickey mouse pack pack. Also for a chapter of your favorite PJO fanfiction. According to a few of you, this story is actually your favorite PJO fic, though, so... I guess I'm honored. Sorry to keep you waiting so long.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own PJO, and I never did.**

* * *

Chapter 10: Percy Doesn't Act His Age

Inside the seventh and last silver tent around the bonfire of the Hunt, Percy sat across from the preteen appearing Artemis and just barely teen appearing Zoe.

"Perseus Jackson, are you surprised by my age?" Artemis asked with a slight smile.

"Not particularly, Lady Artemis. You seemed this age in the Throne Room two summers ago," Percy responded in a relaxed manner, which seemed to annoy Zoe, as she began to glare at him immediately.

"Speaking of two summers ago, the reason I wanted to speak to you was to thank you for killing that pig, Ares. We are still mocking him to this day; I have gained much amusement," Artemis said with the same light smile. It seemed that this was just about as amused as she ever got. She seemed... lonely, somehow, to Percy, but it wasn't his place to comment. All the gods seemed lonely to him. Perhaps it came with age, or perhaps with immense power.

"You are... welcome, Lady Artemis, though I didn't have much choice. I believe he would have killed me, had I not killed him," Percy responded as respectfully as he pleased.

Zoe continued to glare at Percy, seemingly out of a force of habit, who tried not to meet her eyes. It never really hit him until now that this was a full grown woman, old enough to easily be his mother's grandmother's grandmother's grandmother's grandmother's... you get the idea. Being stared down by a fourteen year old was easier to accept than a fourteen thousand year old, and he felt far more uncomfortable than the first time he met her, back when he only knew she talked strangely.

"Be that as it may, I still feel it necessary to show my gratitude," Artemis said good-naturedly.

Zoe, however, was not feeling particularly good-natured, as she said, "Mistress, is it truly necessary to show such politeness to a _boy_?"

The displeasure and, to a certain extent, disbelief, on Zoe's face, was clear, but Artemis did not seem particularly troubled.

"Lieutenant Nightshade, showing proper manners to the Commander of every demigod in Camp Half-Blood does not take any extra effort, and a better relationship between the Hunters and the Camp is not such a bad idea in these trying times. This demigod performed a service for which I am grateful, and so the least I can do is show my gratitude with thanks. Do not let your hate blind you. I have told you this many times. This one is not your enemy."

Zoe looked like she was going to explode with rage at the perceived injustice, but she soon regained her calm, and said, "Yes, my Lady. I understand."

Artemis nodded.

"So you see, young Perseus, you must forgive my Hunters if they are not welcoming. Not one hasn't been betrayed by your kind before, and they are not so eager to treat another with any semblance of trust."

Percy shook his head. "This is a minor matter, Lady Artemis, and one not worth making a fuss over. We must stand united if we are to defeat Grandfather."

Artemis gave her signature slight smile at the way Percy referred to Kronos, before Percy continued.

"At any rate, Lady Artemis, I haven't had a chance to inform any Olympians yet, but my spies I sent to defect have all been telling me about The Great Stirring recently, as well as how The General is 'free' once again. I'm fairly sure I know who the General is, but I was wondering if you could tell me a little about the Stirring? All I know is that it will soon bring about 'the most dangerous of all monsters.' All my sources told me the same exact thing: they aren't even trying to hide it. Which begs the question: Why?"

As it happened, he knew exactly why they weren't hiding this. Because it was a trap for Artemis. With the Moon trapped under the sky, Titan victory was practically assured. The Ophiotaurus was secondary. They knew they had no real chance to kill it and so had no true designs on the beast. If Thalia sacrificed it, it would be good, but they were supremely confident in their chances without it, and rightly so, as they had nigh effortlessly annihilated the gods even with Artemis in the fight and Atlas out of it.

Artemis's face paled, along with Zoe's. She solemnly said, "It is because I have been far too slow to see the signs. They simply assume the gods already know."

Percy looked down. A pity she didn't see the trap until it was too late.

Zoe tried to speak, but was cut off by Artemis before she got even a peep out.

"I must hunt this monster. If our enemy gets hold of it... to say it would spell doom for our cause would be a matter of fact."

Zoe seemed terrified to Percy, but was actually hiding it quite well. However, both Artemis and Percy could see right through her, so the gesture was pointless.

"We will leave right away, My Lady," announced Zoe.

"Zoe, you know I must do this alone. I will not risk you, or the rest of the Hunt. You know where I must begin. You cannot go there."

Zoe looked like she was about to cry, but her voice was determined as she said, "As you see fit, my Lady. I wish thee luck."

"Let us pray I do not need it."

True to form, Percy asked, "Who do goddesses pray to?"

Instead of ignoring him with a smile, however, this time Artemis sighed a long sigh before saying mysteriously, "There are things above the gods and the titans, Perseus Jackson. Let us pray they never get involved in our affairs."

Percy was extremely startled and very confused as to why she shared such an enormous secret all of a sudden, but assented with an, "As you wish, Lady Artemis."

Just then, a small girl with black braided hair and skin white as snow burst into the tent, yelling, "PERCY!"

Lily jumped towards Percy, who realized that this might not look great to the ancient middle schoolers, but had no choice but to catch her in a hug, though he quickly put her down.

Lily took no notice of the people besides Percy and clung to him tightly before she started to cry.

"Lily go! Other no know Lily! Other bad. Other bad bad bad tell! Percy go Lily!" (I wanna go home! No one else can hear me and I don't like them! They said really really mean things! Take me back to Camp!)

Percy gaze turned icy as he looked toward the tent door. If he had been looking at the ancient duo, he would've seen Zoe's look turn troubled, and Artemis's look turn resigned.

"What did they say, Little Sis?"

"Mmm!" she said as she shook her head 'no', and Percy's rage multiplied. If Lily was so embarrassed by what the Hunters said to her that she refused to tell him, there would be Hades to pay.

He could pretty much guess what had happened, however. The Hunters were probably badmouthing him for being born with a ding dong, and Nancy had come to his aid, likely with gusto. Phoebe and that other nameless hunter probably remembered how close Lily was to Percy, and, well, the misunderstanding was obvious, as Lily was unable to defend herself in any way. Percy assumed that the Hunters believed that both Nancy and Lily were with him in that way and were fine with it. The Hunters weren't exactly known for playing nice.

Percy didn't want to think about what Lily just went through.

Lily still crying in his arms, he turned to face Artemis.

"If you go to hunt the monster alone, the Hunters will need a place to stay. I _insist_ you stay at my Camp. I will _certainly_ make sure they feel as _accommodated_ as possible. It is only _polite,_ " he offered, rage visible on his face and audible in his voice. Only his words concealed it, and not in any meaningful way.

But Artemis must have felt bad for Lily, as she assented, saying, "Yes, I was planning on having my Hunt stay in Cabin Eight. I see no reason to change plans."

Zoe, however, saw it a different way. "What!? You cannot be serious! This will only serve to make matters worse! Didn't you just get finished saying we need to be united!? This will only further divide us! We hate that place! All you will accomplish is hurting the relationship between Camp and the Hunters!"

Artemis closed her eyes.

Percy remained incensed. "I did say those things. But that was before you hurt my family. I will suffer any insult, any injury, any injustice, any humiliation, to protect my friends and my family. But you just hurt one of those I'm trying to protect. As far as I'm concerned, you are my enemy. Make no mistake, Camp Half-Blood's position on the Hunters has not changed. This is personal."

Zoe looked like she was about to retort but at that moment Lily's tiny voice came up.

"Go. Percy Lily go."

Percy closed his eyes and slowly regained his cool. He could afford to be polite with Zoe, at least. He knew Zoe. She was more mature than the others, and would have stopped them had she been there. There was no need no be so upset with her. Just her.

"So then. Miss Nightshade, I have no quarrel with you in particular, so let us be civil. Shall we travel together, or apart? I trust your Hunters will not antagonize my people further, lest they wish to risk bodily harm?" Percy asked Zoe.

"Was that a threat, Perseus Jackson?" Zoe asked icily.

"Absolutely, Miss Nightshade. I'm afraid I'm not very reasonable when it comes to my family. I'm sure if it was your young Hunter who couldn't speak a word in defence of herself when she was bullied by my campers, you would react in much the same way. And you would be perfectly justified."

Artemis finally opened her eyes.

"Enough, you two. You will settle this later. Bianca did not wish to join my Hunters after the display outside. A shame. She had much potential. That leaves only the question of how to get to camp. Luckily, or perhaps unfortunately, I have summoned a ride from my brother. Zoe, break camp, but first make sure your sisters understand just how displeasing their actions outside were. My thought projection only spoke with Bianca, as they will blindly obey my command, and will not truly think about their actions."

Percy had never heard Artemis say so much at once. However, he was busy consoling Lily, and missed most of what she had said. He knew—or assumed he knew—what she would say, anyways.

Zoe stalked out of the tent as slowly as she could, and when she was finally gone, Artemis looked at Percy and spoke.

"Perseus. I understand your anger, and I will not attempt to assuage you. But if your revenge goes too far, you will answer to me."

Percy's eyes were burning, and his ability to come back to life if he died certainly impacted his fearlessness.

"I will of course observe every rule of hospitality, Lady Artemis. It is just that I had previously planned to... entertain our guests in a new, more constructive way. But it seems it will be Capture the Flag once again. So far, Lady Artemis, your Hunters have won fifty five times in a row. I have no intention of letting them win a fifty sixth."

Artemis kept her face emotionless as she said, "As long as none are hurt when I get back, Perseus Jackson, I truly could not care less who wins a game of Capture the Flag."

Percy's face instantly started turning red as he realized he had gotten far too serious about a game of capture the flag. Why would a goddess care about something like that? Before things got too awkward, he left the tent with Lily.

As soon as he exited, he noticed the Hunters were nowhere to be found. Nancy and Thalia were sitting on separate logs by the fire, and he could tell they were seriously pissed. Grover and the Di Angelos were on a third log, but no one was talking.

"Hey, guys," Percy ventured cautiously, Lily still glued to his side, softly sniffling.

Nancy and Thalia both shot up and said, "Percy!" at the same time rather angrily, but their faces told Percy they were just upset in general.

"Is Lily okay?" Nancy asked.

Lily nodded into Percy's rib cage, and he said, "She said 'yeah, I'm okay' but it was pretty clear she was lying."

Lily couldn't communicate in any way with people who couldn't use magic. Her face showed no emotion, her body language and gestures were too blurry to understand. The words she wrote were gibberish. People could only tell she was trying to say something, but it was impossible to understand what. She relied on Percy to get her every point across.

She was evidently unhappy with how Percy handled it this time, and punched him, though he didn't really feel a thing, and didn't inform the others, either.

Thalia was next to speak.

"I can't believe you were so subservient to those bitches earlier. You knew I hated them, and for good reason! I tried to tell you they were no good, but you wouldn't listen, and now they've hurt Lily!"

Lily clenched her arms around him tighter and buried her face in his side even more. Percy was not having it.

"Shut your mouth, Thalia," he said calmly. "Lily is what matters. She got very scared when you were yelling just now. You have to remember that she just doesn't have life experience. she's never heard yelling and arguments. She won't tell me what was said or what was done, and will barely talk at all. She doesn't know what's going on, yelling more will only make things worse."

"I'm sorry, Lily," Thalia said.

Percy felt her fingers dig into him slightly for a second.

"She says 'It's okay,'" Percy relayed, before covering Lily's ears so she couldn't hear what he was about to say. "Thalia, Nancy... What in Hades happened?"

Nancy started, "Well, I think it all started when a few of the Hunters were jealous you got to talk to Artemis, since they almost never do."

 _Earlier, in the Hunter's Camp_

 _"I can't believe that stupid boy gets to speak to Artemis. Why did she even want to talk to him?" said one Hunter to another._

 _"He's so arrogant just because he's the leader of the demigod camp. He's not that great, I could beat him," replied the other._

 _Nancy couldn't hear something like this without butting in, and immediately exclaimed, "No way! He's the strongest demigod ever!"_

 _The two looked over and one said, "Why do you care? Are you in love with him? Are you his girlfriend?"_

 _Nancy sputtered and tried to refute her, but the second Hunter jumped in, "Wait, I thought the mute was his girlfriend. They seemed real_ friendly _when they came over here."_

 _Nancy couldn't get a word in edgewise, as a third Hunter continued, "What, you don't think he's dating both of them?"_

 _Soon all the Hunters but the three that they had seen first, (Zoe, Phoebe, and the other one) were all crowding around Nancy and Lily, who was next to her._

 _"Yeah, totally, he's a typical man. But they seem to be fine with it."_

 _"They're both just whores."_

 _"Common sluts."_

 _"They're probably just with him because he's the leader of their dumb little camp."_

 _"They're both just cheap and easy power hungry sluts."_

 _"How lame. They make all women look bad."_

 _At this point, even Nancy looked about ready to cry, and Lily was crying since almost the beginning, but no one could tell._

 _Thalia was shouting for them to stop, as were Phoebe and the other Hunter, but it was a mob at this point._

 _As strange as it was being called whores and sluts by 10 to 14 year olds, it was still more than Lily could take, and after several more minutes of screaming obscenities, a ripple of power spiraled out from Lily, knocking everyone off their feet, but not otherwise harming them. Lily ran into the tent that she saw Percy enter._

 _Immediately, the mob dispersed, and a few minutes later, Zoe came out of the tent looking like she was about to murder the next person she saw. She spoke calmly but her face was burning with rage as she gathered the Hunters and practically threw them in one of the tents._

Present time

"Basically what I expected," Percy said solemnly. "Whenever the Hunters come to Camp, we have a game of Capture the Flag. This time, we're going to annihilate them."

"Agreed," said Nancy and Thalia.

No one was really in the mood to talk, and when the Hunters came out and broke down all the tents, the atmosphere was thicker than pea soup. Lily eventually separated from Percy, but didn't move more than a couple feet away from him the entire night.

 _~Lines break, people take~_

The Hunters attempted to annoy and otherwise infuriate Percy in any way they could, but he simply ghosted them. As in, he completely ignored their very existence. This only served to piss them off more, but he gave them no real ammunition to use against him, so they more or less gave up after a little while.

Apollo showed up and was generally a stuck up ass, but Percy noted with no small relief that Nancy showed no interest in the sun god, and Lily was in no mood to show interest in much of anything. Thalia was infatuated, like before, and almost creamed her jeans when Apollo knew her name.

Apollo gazed at Percy with a strange look in his eye. "Percy Jackson."

He looked for a few seconds, then started laughing. "When you were first brought to Camp Half-Blood, you almost poured nectar on your wound instead of drinking it. Man, that was so funny. You'd be surprised how many people think that's how it works, though."

Percy was not expecting that. Apollo kept watch over Camp Half-Blood? How else would he know what happened in the infirmary that one time?

"I'm sure I would, Lord Apollo."

"I've even written a haiku about it. A-hem."

There was a collective groan.

" _Ambrosia, nectar._

 _You put them in your face-hole._

 _Not on your wounds. Fools."_

Percy's eyes closed slightly. "I'll try not to be offended, Lord Apollo."

Apollo waved him off while grinning casually, but Percy suddenly felt a pressure from Apollo that he was sure no one else could feel. "No need to be so formal, _commander_. We might be shedding blood together in this war, after all. You were strong enough to kill Ares two whole years ago, so you can just call me Cousin Apollo."

Percy's eyes narrowed. "You flatter me, _Lord_ Apollo, but it was a total fluke, and my father's armor protected me. It isn't even worth mentioning."

With every word, the pressure from Apollo grew greater and greater, and Percy had to restrain himself from gasping for air when he was finished and the pressure vanished. Percy believed Apollo was warning him not to get stuck up. He was reminding him how strong a true major god really is.

Apollo turned around and walked toward the sun-mobile, hiding the slight smile on his face.

While Percy believed it was a tactic to make him afraid, it was actually Apollo's test. Apollo knew something extremely bad was about to happen, and he wanted to know how strong Percy truly was. He had released pressure to a point where he knew Ares would have been in pain, and Percy had managed to keep from gasping for air. He therefor knew Percy truly was strong enough to defeat Ares in single combat. He had definitely reached the 'Hero' level. Although he was happy that his children had a fighting chance to survive the looming war, he knew that Percy needed to grow, fast. He needed to be able to defeat Ares effortlessly. To be a 'Great Hero.'

"Well, we'd better load up!" Apollo said, cheerfully.

Again, Apollo wanted Thalia to drive, and though Percy wanted to spare everyone the terror, he was pretty sure Zeus wouldn't like it much if he drove the sun. He surreptitiously buckled up, and made sure Nancy and Lily were secure on either side of him. They were still terrified, but at least they were safe. For the most part.

It ended the same way, with Thalia crashing into the lake.

As soon as the Hunters scrambled out of the bus, they wordlessly stalked towards the cabins, not wanting to interact with Percy's group in any way.

The group of seven headed towards the Big House and Percy heard Nico say to his sister, "Sis, why does it seem like we're back at Westover?"

That hurt Percy. Had he made camp not fun? True, he had pushed for a more combat oriented schedule for most cabins, but...

Without stopping, Percy told Nico, "I'm sorry you came here now. Just a few years ago, and... well, I'll be honest. War is looming. Ancient and merciless evils are awakening. Living here isn't as fun as a normal summer camp, but... You'll be safe, here. And it's still fun, just... we need to be prepared. In the summer, though, it's much more lively. Only a few of us stay here year round. Ah, here we are at the big house."

Nico seemed to think ancient and merciless evils were the best thing since McDonald's, but Bianca was totally spooked.

The meeting with Chiron was short and sweet, as the mission was a total success. When Chiron heard the Hunters were here, he was less than enthused, but told Percy to prepare for the game. Mr. D didn't care either way, about most anything.

Grover took Nico and Bianca away for orientation, and the remaining four headed to the cabins.

When they arrived, Percy let out a mighty roar that echoed through the entire camp. "CAMPERS, ASSEMBLE!"

After several minutes, most of the campers had gathered around Percy.

"You may have heard that the Hunters of Artemis are here. If not, now you have. But you may not know that this means we will have a game of Capture the Flag. Apparently, we have never won before. But not this time. We will show them what it means to capture a flag! We will show them WAR!"

The camp let out a war cry of agreement.

"Cabin Leaders, follow me. We're going to hold a strategy meeting, immediately."

Percy was followed to the Big House by Clarisse, Silena, Beckendorf, Connor and Travis, and Lee Fletcher, and obviously Thalia. Lily tagged along next to Percy who didn't mind she was coming, as she couldn't say anything unless he said it for her. Nancy wanted to come, too, but Percy said it was strictly cabin leaders. Lily would be cabin leader if there were a Hecate cabin, which was good enough for him. Nancy said it wasn't fair, but Percy said that it was, and that's why it seemed unfair. If he let her come, what was the point of calling the meeting?

Annabeth... she didn't do much in camp these days, just trained and made conspiracy theories.

After they got into the war room, Percy wasted no time explaining.

"We will absolutely demolish them," he started.

Thalia immediately countered, "How? The fact that they've won every time says something about their skill. What's your master plan, Percy?"

Clarisse shouted, "We'll crush them in a full frontal assault!"

Everyone either rolled their eyes or facepalmed.

Except for Percy. "Though that sounds ridiculous, it's actually not that bad of a strategy."

Of everyone, only Beckendorf immediately understood what Percy meant.

"Think about it. The Hunters are just that. Hunters. They attack from long range, and from stealth as well. If we can't find them, or even if we can't engage them in close combat, then the best strategy is to decrease the amount of time we spend in range of them. They'll never expect us to come at them with reckless abandon, so we'll do the opposite of what they'd expect. We'll make a phalanx, and charge."

"What about our flag, Percy?"

"Simple, I'll defend it. If we make sure they know that all of us are charging their flag, they won't be able to send out too many attackers. Normally in capture the flag, you'll have some offense, and some defense, and the sides will be relatively even. But if we make sure we force all of them into defending, well, then they won't have a chance to attack in numbers that I can't handle."

Silence.

It was a plan worthy of Athena, Percy thought to himself.

It was Connor, or maybe Travis, who spoke up. "Well, guys, we did ban him from this game for a reason."

Actually, this plan had one glaring flaw.

If the opponents also rushed the flag, they'd overwhelm Percy before the campers could come back with the flag. This was because the Hunters were much faster runners than the campers, and a phalanx has terrible mobility.

Luckily, Percy knew they wouldn't immediately rush him because he already knew their strategy. Of course, the plan would only work if the Hunters couldn't immediately change their tactics. They were too spread out for this, however, and so they couldn't immediately change strategy to rush Percy. This was why it would work.

"Remember, don't speak a word of this outside. If the Hunters find out, it's game over."

 _~Breaking lines, changing times~_

At dinner, Percy got a real shock. He heard Lily's tiny voice ask him a question he was not prepared for.

"Lily bad?" (Am I a slut?)

Percy started to choke on his pepperoni pizza. After roughly swallowing it and coughing several times, he replied, "No! You certainly are not!"

"...Lily bad?" (Then, am I a whore?)

"Of course not, Lily!" Percy kept himself from shouting loud enough for the whole pavilion to hear.

"Other tell Lily, 'Lily bad!' Lily no know. Lily no bad Harry Potter. Percy tell Lily bad know?" (The Hunters said I was a slut and a whore, but I didn't know what that meant. I never heard those words before. Percy, what do those things mean?)

Percy was dumbfounded, but a second later, he was doubly dumbfounded. If she didn't know what the Hunters were saying, then why was she so upset by the Hunters that she started crying?

Percy wasn't sure where to begin. "Umm... well... a, um, a..." Percy lowered his voice to a whisper. "Do you know how babies are made?"

Lily nodded and whispered back, "Boy girl, love. Boy die, girl go Lily *points at Big House*." (There's a man and a woman who fall in love, then the man dies and the woman brings you to the Big House.)

Percy stared blankly at her for a second before realizing she was covering her mouth to keep from laughing. She made a joke. She was only kidding. That was indeed the story of her birth, in a way.

Percy wanted to smash his head into the table, but he settled for saying, "Be serious, Lily. Don't you want to know what those words meant?"

Lily nodded seriously, and said, "Lily know other tell other boy girl all no happy happy. All Lily know." (I overheard someone saying a guy and a girl sleep together and it feels really good. That's all I know.)

Percy thought for a second. He whispered, "Yeah, that's sort of it. A guy and a girl do something called sex, which I won't explain for now but the main thing is that it feels really good and a lot of people think you are only supposed to do it with someone you are really in love with."

Before he could continue, Lily interrupted, "Lily Percy?"

Percy blushed heavily and coughed, before explaining, "No, no, no. You're my little sister, and I'm your big bro. You only, um, sleep together, that's what people say when they mean have sex, you only sleep together with your romantic partner. Family love and romance love are very different."

"Nancy Percy?"

Percy practically had a coughing fit before saying, "I refuse to answer that. Anyways, I'll explain the words to you now. Um, so, a slut is someone who sleeps with a lot of different people without being in love with them. People tend to look down on that, I won't get into it. A whore is someone who sleeps with people for money. People also tend to look down on that, but I won't get into that either. The key reason why people like this exist is sleeping together feels really good, and people tend to want to do it a lot. Also it makes babies, but I'll let Nancy explain that one to you."

"Lily no know bad bad." (I don't understand why sluts and whores are so bad.)

"...countless centuries of systematic oppression and sexism against women. It's hard to explain. More importantly, if you didn't know what they were calling you, why did you get so upset?"

Lily looked at Percy like he was crazy. "Other tell Percy bad bad bad. Percy NO bad bad bad. Percy good, no bad. Other tell all no!" (They said really mean things about you! But you weren't any of them! You're good, not bad! They kept saying lies!)

Percy almost fell off the bench.

"Lily, haven't I told you it doesn't matter what people say about me? But... thank you. Thank you for caring about me so much, Lily. I love you, Little Sis."

Lily smiled as Percy ruffled her hair. "Lily love Big Bro!"

"Alright, now to straighten out the situation with the Hunters," Percy said as he stood up and took Lily's hand.

"NO! NO LILY FOOD, PERCY! NO, NO!" (WAIT! HOLD ON, I'M NOT FINISHED EATING YET, PERCY! HOLD ON A MINUTE!)

After telling her that they could eat more in a minute, and that three 16" pizzas were more than enough for one meal, Percy took her to the Hunters' table.

As they approached, the two Hunters that had originally started harassing Nancy and Lily both stood up.

"Lily, we're very sorry!" they shouted, seeming very apologetic.

Lily turned away, not that they understood the gesture, and said, "Thanks Percy." (Apologize to Percy.)

Percy groaned and said, "Come on, Lily, I'm not telling them that."

He didn't expect Zoe to speak up instead. "Then I will be her unbiased translator for the moment. Lily says, 'Apologize to Percy.'"

"What!? Why!?" the girls shouted.

Lily responded in an extremely childish tone, "Lily no know bad bad bad. Lily no no happy. Tell Percy bad bad bad, Percy no bad bad bad. Lily no happy tell no Percy."

Said Zoe in more or less the same tone, "Lily says, ' I don't know why slut and whore are bad. I wasn't upset. But you said mean things about Percy! Percy isn't bad at all. I am upset you were lying about Percy.'"

There was a stunned silence around the table, and most of the pavilion.

Percy spoke up, "I, on the other hand, don't care even a bit about what you said about me. I only care that you made Lily cry. Apologize to her, and we can put this behind us. Once Capture the Flag ends, anyways."

Lily wouldn't have it, however, and insisted, "No! Thanks Percy, no Lily."

"No way! You have to apologize to Percy, not to me!" Zoe translated.

The Hunters looked at each other. "We refuse. No boy deserves our apology. Just because he has you fooled now doesn't mean he won't—"

She was cut off by Percy shouting "Lily!" and grabbing Lily by the waist and spinning her away from the Hunters.

A huge bolt of lightning shot from Lily's outstretched hands and into the sky where Percy guided them to. Lily had gotten so angry she almost blasted the Hunter who was talking into next year.

Lily was kicking and screaming, trying to turn around and massacre the Hunters.

Percy hastily explained to the group behind him, "Look, you've got to understand, for the first 12 years of her life, she couldn't say a single word to anyone. I'm the only one here who can tell other people what she's trying to say. You can understand how attached to me that might make her? Look, I'll give you all one piece of advice. If you see her during Capture the Flag, run. She's not big on morality, you understand. She is, however, big on desert, and if she kills anyone, her privileges will be revoked. I doubt she'll kill you, is my point. Intentionally, anyways."

Percy dragged Lily back to the U, and managed to get her into the Poseidon cabin. As the cabin leader, he could lock it from the inside or out. Lily knew she couldn't escape and she quickly calmed down.

"I know you really care about me, Lily, but the Hunters will never be nice to a man, even one as cool as me."

"Lily know."

"That's good. Ready to get back to dinner?"

"No."

A couple minutes later, she spoke again. "Percy? Big other good Lily?" (Percy? Why was the head Hunter nice to me?"

"Head Hunter? You mean Zoe?"

"Z...Z...Zo...Zo...Zoe?"

"Yeah, you got it, Lily. But your question... Zoe isn't a bad person. She is just... abrasive, some of the time. Most of the time. She felt bad that her sisters were mean to you. She felt responsible."

"Zoe good girl?"

"Yeah, I think so. I think Zoe is a good person, for sure."

"Food."

"Okay."

 _~break line, fake mine~_

Percy had no dreams that night, and spent most of the next dray training, though he ate breakfast and lunch with Lily and Nancy. Grover told him about Zoe's dream, and Percy didn't have much to say in return.

At dinner, Percy was focused on the Hunters' table. They looked awful. Zoe kept glancing between Chiron and Percy, and looked equally pissed at both of them. The Hunters all looked depressed.

Percy really didn't want to fight once he saw the depressed look on the Hunters' faces. It just seemed too lame to want to win at Capture the Flag when the most important person to them was in mortal danger.

"Lily, um... can you, uh... yell at Zoe that I want to talk to her? She's the only one who'll hear it. Well, maybe Mr. D will, too, but I doubt he'd care either way."

Lily nodded and yelled without looking, "ZOE! PERCY TELL ZOE!" (Zoe! Percy wants to talk to you!)

Zoe's head shot to look at Percy.

"HAPPY! GOOD TELL!" Lily continued. (He's not mad at you or anything!)

Percy looked at Zoe, then stood up and walked away. A minute later, Zoe stoop up and followed.

They walked until they were out of sight, and Percy said, "Is your Lady truly in trouble?"

Zoe was about to be outraged, but Percy didn't let her start. "Relax, nothing happens in this camp without me knowing about it. I wasn't personally spying on you or anything."

"Wherefor am I here, Jackson?" she managed to get out.

"I know you don't want to play Capture the Flag. Neither do I."

"What can be done?"

"I'm getting to it. I can probably convince Chiron to cancel it. But it'll hurt my credibility. I need something in return. I want to get in—"

Zoe's eyes flashed dangerously. "I would advise thee to be cautious, lest you seek that which cannot be given. If thou should look for more than is allowed, thou may find thyself less than whole."

Percy had to think for a few seconds to understand what she just said. "Um, look, I just want to be a part of the quest. I don't know what you thought I meant, but I wasn't seeking it or whatever."

"What quest?" Zoe was in no mood for jokes.

"To help your Lady. I assume there will be one. I know that you have not yet asked the oracle and so have received no response, but... my subconscious is yelling at me that there's gonna be a quest soon, and that I need to be on it. My subconscious has helped me a lot. I listen to it."

"Be that as it may, only Hunters will be on any quest to help my Mistress. Even if we did take campers, we would only take females." Zoe wouldn't budge.

"I guess you just really want to get crushed in Capture the Flag, don't you? If we can't come to an agreement, that's fine, but let me make you one last offer," Percy said, mysteriously.

Zoe was about to speak when Percy brought out a pen, and waved it at Zoe. "This is the most valuable thing I can offer to anyone, especially you, Zoe Nightshade."

"Perseus Jackson, thou cannot fool me. That is merely the modern equivalent of a quill. It is worth less than one bite of a cheap burger." Zoe said proudly. It seemed it was a major accomplishment that she remembered what a pen was.

"Wrong, Zoe Nightshade. This is not a pen. Nor is it what the pen holds," he said ceremoniously.

He uncapped Riptide, and the blade instantly grew to its full length.

Zoe gasped, and Percy said, "This is by far the best blade I have ever held, but it is not the blade itself I offer you. Naturally... this is the vessel of your immortal power. All I ask in return is that you let me on your quest, if you receive one. Do that, and you can regain that which was lost."

Zoe stared at the blade longingly, before slowly speaking.

"A most valuable chip, Perseus Jackson. I only wonder... if thou art strong enough to bargain with it!" she said as she lunged for the blade, but it was at her throat before she knew what was happening.

"Have we come to an arrangement, Miss Nightshade?" Percy said, blade still at her throat, staring into her volcanic eyes.

She stared into his eyes for a long time, it seemed.

"Thou hast seen countless lives fade before thy eyes, while you were powerless to stop it," Zoe came to a startling realization. "Thou art not who thou say thee are!"

Percy had to keep himself from cutting into her throat. Anaklusmos was so sharp that if he lost control for a fraction of a second, he would lop her head off.

"A dangerous accusation for one in your position. Many would not be foolish enough to throw it," Percy informed her.

But instead of pressing the attack, he took a step back and capped Riptide.

"I am Percy Jackson, son of Sally Jackson, loyal to Olympus for all time. If I lie, may the Styx strike me down where I stand," Percy said solemnly, as thunder rumbled far into the distance.

Zoe seemed somewhat flabbergasted that he was fine.

"I have offered you everything I can, Lieutenant of the Hunt," Percy said as he turned away. "If you reconsider, just forfeit the match. I will accept your resignation. If you remain unconvinced, then I will suppose it was just meant not to be."

As Percy walked back to the dining pavilion, he wondered just what had gotten into him to make him act so strangely. Why did he talk like he was so much older when he was with Zoe? And why had he offered her Riptide!? That was his secret weapon! He didn't suppose he could turn back and say he was only joking, could he?

Soon, Percy made it back to the pavilion, where no one had noticed his absence, or at least, they weren't freaking out about it. Zoe had the sense to come from the other direction when she returned, and when she did return to her table, a big discussion clearly arose. Soon, dinner was over.

Just as Percy breathed a sigh of relief that he wouldn't need to give Riptide away, Zoe stood up and spoke up.

"I, Zoe Nightshade, representing The Hunters of Artemis, hereby forfeit the game!"

Percy suppressed a groan as he stood up as well.

"I, Percy Jackson, representing Camp Half-Blood, hereby accept your resignation!"

Instantly, there were deafening roars of disapproval. All of the campers wanted to win, but none of them wanted to win like this.

"Settle down!" Chiron shouted over the chaos. He stomped his hoof on the pavilion floor. "I said, 'Settle down!'"

"The campers win!" he announced, though he clearly didn't know how to feel about it.

Suddenly, the yelling stopped. Something was headed toward the pavilion. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the pavilion. Mist curled around the feet of the heroes.

No one dared move.

 _I am the spirit of Delphi,_ the voice said. _Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python._

The Oracle turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. _Approach, Seeker, and ask._

Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. There was the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

 _Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

 _One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

 _The bane of Olympus shows the trail,_

 _Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

 _The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

 _And one shall suffer at a parent's hand._

Then the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on an empty bench and froze, as if she'd been waiting for dinner for the past century.

After a quarter hour or so, the cabin leaders once again lined the War room, but this time with the addition of Zoe.

Zoe opened up the discussion with, "We'll go west. The prophecy says campers and Hunters, both plural. We need at least two of each. We should go with the best of the best. Phoebe, Elfreda, and myself are the eldest Hunters. Which two art the strongest campers?"

Everyone looked at each other.

Percy spoke up. "I will skip the humility, but I think it is agreed I am the strongest camper at the moment. I would say the team of Lily and myself is our strongest duo, but I refuse to put her in this kind of danger. At least one of the members of this quest will most likely die. She only started truly living two years ago; it would be like sending a toddler. Magicians aside, the second strongest... it is probably Thalia."

Clarisse grumbled, but she knew Percy was right. Thalia was indeed the strongest besides Percy. Liliana was unbeatable in terms of support, but her match up against Thalia was awful. She wouldn't even stand a chance.

As there were no Hunters to argue with Zoe, and Zoe had previously come to an agreement with Percy, the issue of the quest team was settled without issue. The discussion otherwise went mostly the same, other than the fact that only one person was likely to die.

After Percy saved Bessie and said goodbye to Lily and Nancy, it was time to go.

* * *

 **So, it is done. My return is complete. That ending was incredibly weak. Have I lost my touch? Am I more or less the same? Please, let me know.**

 **I put in a lot of Lily because she's just so cute and she isn't going on the quest, so yeah. If there wasn't as much Lily, it isn't like I would have replaced it with anything else, it would have just sucked. Trust me, I wrote this chapter several times without a lot of her in it.**

 **That's all folks! See you in 3 or 4 years! (joke)**


	11. Non-Canon Tide-You-Over Bonus Stories

**As I am writing chapter 11, I have removed many ideas from the chapter, and put them here, where I expanded on them. However, these conflict with my plans for the series, so I will never be able to add them to any chapter. I was planning on releasing this at the end of the story, but I have decided to release it now, so that I don't release _nothing_ for so long.**

 **Just to make absolutely clear, _none_ of the is canon.**

 _ **Not canon.**_

 **This is not canon.**

 **I repeat, this ISN'T a part of the story.**

 _ **This isn't canon.**_

 **All line breaks will be replaced with me saying not canon.**

* * *

 _ **NOT CANON story 1: "He's alive! HE'S ALIVE!" or 'in which Liliana becomes a mad scientist but with magic'**_

"Percy... no... no no no... Percy no die! No! Percy no die! No die! No!" Liliana was sobbing as she hit Zoe with her weak fists.

"I am sorry, Liliana. He was a... a good man."

"No tell good! Percy no tell no! No die! No no no!" Liliana refused to accept Percy's death.

The Titans were defeated thanks to Thalia sacrificing the Ophiotaurus, and the world safe, for now. Everything was going good.

But Percy was gone.

Lily's big brother, the first one who could understand her, her lifeline... he was her everything. He couldn't be gone.

"I am not lying. I am so sorry, young one. Perseus is truly gone. He sacrificed himself so Thalia might live to save Olympus, save thee."

"Percy..." Liliana could do nothing but cry in Zoe's arms.

After a while, Zoe spoke.

"Before he sent us away, he said something rather odd to myself. Perhaps he similarly confided something in thee? He told me... He said..."

After she fought away the blush, she continued, "He told me he was glad I wasn't going to die _this time_. Dost thee know wherefor he hath said this?"

"Old..." Liliana managed to sniffle. "Percy old no tell."

"Hmm... He seemed older than he was, and told thee to keep it secret. If he truly was older, it might be due to him somehow traveling to our present, his past."

Liliana thought hard.

"Percy magic," she pointed out.

"That _was_ odd. I hath never heard of a male able to use magic. It has never happened before, as far as I know."

"Mysteries."

"Mysteries?"

"Mysteries Mysteries."

"Mysteries."

"Yes."

Zoe left to discover what the daughter of Hecate was talking about.

Eventually, she came to know of the Seven Mysteries of Percy Jackson, and things started to make more sense.

"He knew things about others they had never confided in anyone, and was more skilled than anyone they knew. And I saw in his eyes also, a look of pain. He had seen death. If he was from a different world, it makes sense. He knew what others had told him in the future, but it seemed he could read minds and memories."

"Percy die little."

"Hmm? He only showed a little concern for his own life? True, he did not even suggest we fight off the metal giant together. He did not fear it. Is it possible... he is sent to a different world every time he dies? To a point in his past, to relive it?"

"Little. Little."

"I think it is a possibility as well."

Liliana's eyes widened. "Lily go Percy."

"What? How dost thee plan to do that?"

"Big big big old. Lily big big big magic."

"Thou shalt grow strong over time, and become powerful enough to cast a spell to go to him? Wouldst thou like to join the Huntresses? I will translate for thee, and thou shalt have companionship whilst thee enact thy plans."

"No. Lily go Percy. Lily go Percy only."

"I understand. I will not distract thee on thy quest then.

~NOT CANON~

"You are the only daughter of Hecate I know who still cannot speak after a decade."

"Total focus on Percy. Only Percy matters."

"Is that really true, Lily?"

"You hunter. No men good. Percy good. Only Percy good."

"We agree on something. But there is more to life than men, even one like him. If you join the Hunters, you can have a family. You don't need Percy to be happy."

"Zoe happy?"

"I... what? Of course I am, do not be ridiculous Lily."

"Zoe come tell Lily Percy. Tell Nancy Percy."

"Well, he is still a mystery. I do not come that often, anyhow."

Lily laughed to herself.

"Zoe no forget Percy."

"Well, I'll admit he is hard to forget about. But that doesn't mean anything. I am still happy."

"Zoe love Percy."

"That's not true. I like him, sure, but I do not love him. He could be a friend, were he still alive. But I would not go so far as to leave the Hunt to be with him. I am not so attached as you."

~NOT CANON~

"I can't believe you've actually done it."

"After only a century, I can finally sense Percy again. But... this is odd... He is..."

"Lily?"

"I suppose it makes sense. Hold on, Percy. I'm coming for my big brother. I'll make you keep your promise to me."

"Lily, if it's possible, could I see Percy, just once?"

"Finally admitting your true feelings, Zoe?"

"No. I simply wish to thank him for saving my life. And to slap him for flirting with a huntress."

Lily giggled.

"What's so funny?"

 **NOT CANON story 2: "The Most Powerful Being in the Universe Devoid Entirely of Hope"**

A boy, no older than 12 or 13, sat on the top of a skyscraper, overlooking New York City. His legs dangled off the edge, and he mindlessly hummed a tune.

He brushed his messy black hair out of his sea green eyes as he swung his legs back onto the roof.

Something about him seemed sad in some way. He had a smile on his face and the tune he sang was a happy one, but none the less there was an undeniable air of melancholy about him.

The smile didn't reach his eyes, and the tune wasn't hummed with any force behind it.

He seemed... tired.

What he was tired _of_ exactly was hard to discern, but in any case he could not be said to be an energetic child.

He put his hands in his jean pockets and walked towards the other side of the building, but as he walked he seemed to step on invisible stairs, each step propelling him forwards and upwards.

He kept climbing the unseen stairs until he was high above even the Empire State Building, where he simply stopped moving, only looking down, his plain orange T-shirt flapping madly in the wind.

His every move seemed to radiate his gentle sadness, from the way he walked to the expression on his face.

"Should this world be saved?" he asked himself aloud. "Or is it truly time for a new era?"

"What do you believe?" a little girl's voice asked from behind him.

He turned calmly and bowed his head slightly, before greeting, "Lady Hestia."

The 8-year-old Hestia laughed softly before shaking her head, "I do not know who you are, but it is plain to see you have no need to bow to one so weak as me."

It was the boy's turn to shake his head gently as he explained with a sad smile, "I bow to show respect, but I do not respect power. Lady Hestia, of all beings in existence, it is you I most respect. When the battles of gods and titans, mortals and giants, half bloods and monsters, all end, and humanity is waiting to be destroyed, all things will find comfort in the well tended hearth. In all these years, it is this that I have come to believe."

Hestia smiled the same sort of sad smile as the boy.

"All things find comfort in the well tended hearth. All but you and I."

"Yes. I have seen too much, lost all hope, lost even despair. Everything. There is no comfort left to be had."

"And who are you exactly?"

"I am Perseus Jackson, son of Sally Jackson. I have lived for a thousand millennia. I live the life of a demigod until I die, and I am sent back to this day. I seek to destroy the Crooked One, but the shackles of my blood limit me. Stronger than any god, but it is not enough. The king of titans is always stronger. To defeat the Crooked One, I have done everything. But even when all the forces of the gods are combined, we still cannot defeat him."

"Truly?" Hestia asked, concerned. "My father is truly rising?"

The boy nodded lightly, confirming, "Yes, the foremost amongst the progenitors of the gods, son of the sky and the earth, is rising from his prison."

"How is this possible? He has not been able to rise for so long..."

"It was a matter of time. And it was the pact among the eldest brothers. And it was negligence. The children of the gods feel abandoned. We Greeks, but the Romans in the West, as well. They are only children, after all. The Crooked One offers vengeance, he offers comfort. He offers lies. And what he has done cannot be undone in so little time. He will rise in as few as three years, or as many as ten, called from the pit by the pledges of demigod soldiers. The speed at which he acquires enough pledges determines the speed at which he rises, but his power is always the same. Unfathomable."

"And what of the current crisis? He is involved?"

"Of course. Luke, son of Hermes, stole both Zeus's bolt and Hades's helm. Ares caught him, but the promise of war drew the god into the scheme. Ares has the bolt and the helm in his possession. The Crooked One wants a war between the eldest brothers, to weaken them all, but he does not need it."

"Could the Crooked One not be convinced to see peace? Not be persuaded to stay away from the mountain of the gods?"

"I have tried. But there was nothing could be done to appease him."

"Perseus, please, come with me to my niece. Perhaps she can help?"

"No, she cannot. We have talked like this before, Hestia, first and last, eldest of the gods, last of the first to see the light of day. Pallas Athena can offer no solution. No god of the twelve and two are able."

"And what of other gods?"

"None I have found can help."

"Then what of a new god?"

"A new god?"

"You."

"Hmm..."

"If you went through an apotheosis, would your blood still limit you? My nephew was sewn into his father's calf, and gained godhood. It is not impossible for a demigod to transcend his mortality."

"There is but four short years before the Crooked One rises."

"Then perhaps you ought to move quickly."

The boy turned from the younger goddess and put his hands behind his back.

He looked up to the sky.

"Perhaps. Perhaps," he said gently as he considered it.

He began to walk from the goddess, and with each step he took, his form grew less and less distinct, more and more transparent, until he evaporated entirely into water vapor, and was gone.

~NOT CANON~

A 15-foot adult Hestia stood at the mouth of the U in the throne room of Olympus.

"Brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, I have called you all here for several reasons. The first is this: Father is rising."

"WHAT?!" Zeus shouted.

Poseidon shot to attention, his face turning completely serious.

"We have all felt the signs. But we have ignored them. We have ignored them all, content to pretend our reign will never be endangered. No longer can this be allowed to continue."

"Sister, what has caused this revelation?" Zeus commanded an answer.

"The son of Poseidon, the 'lightning thief' you have been discussing so fervently, is no ordinary demigod. He was stronger than me."

The council was too stunned to respond.

"I felt someone in need of hope, but when I arrived to investigate, he was standing in the clouds, below Olympus, but not by much."

"Impossible!" cried Zeus. "I felt nothing in the skies I did not allow!"

"I do not know how he evaded your notice, though I expect he hid himself in the moisture in the air. Perhaps you thought he was merely a cloud?"

"Impossible!" Zeus repeated.

Ignoring her brother, Hestia continued, "When I approached, a fear more intense than any I have ever encountered filled my heart, and my very soul itself screamed to me the danger of that boy. Yet, he nodded toward me with respect. We spoke, and he told me many things. Things he should not know. Of the Romans. Of the camp he has never visited, of the solstice meeting. As well as your symbol, brother, the Helm of Darkness was taken as well. And he knows who took them, and who has them now. And he knows how Father will rise, and when, and what is giving him the strength to do so. Our children. They feel abandoned. Unwanted. Enough so that they want vengeance. They would turn even to Father, just to feel needed, respected. Perseus told me this, and he knows because he has lived it. For a million years, he said. He repeats his life after this day until his death. And I looked into his eyes, and saw the truth. He is older than any of us by far."

Zeus, furious, shook his head and ignored most of what Hestia just told him, shouting, "We must assemble a force to annihilate this son of Poseidon at once! He is a threat we cannot allow to continue!"

Athena spoke up, "With all due respect, Father, it is this type of thinking and action that has likely alienated us from our children. He could be our most valuable ally, yet because he threatens your reign, we must destroy him? Foolish."

"Is the son of Poseidon handsome?" asked Aphrodite out of nowhere.

"He is only twelve," answered Hestia, with some disdain.

"But is he handsome for a twelve year old?"

"Yes, I think so. What does it matter?" Hestia asked impatiently, not fond of this particular goddess.

"Just brainstorming..." Aphrodite pouted cutely.

Poseidon, who had not yet spoken, despite the conversation being about his son, asked Hestia hopefully, "My son, Percy, he... is he happy?"

Hestia closed her eyes and shook her head.

Poseidon deflated back into his chair, so much bad news all at once finally taking its toll.

"He is tired. So very tired."

Hestia opened her eyes and finished, "He has been alive for _so_ long. We are all children in his eyes: limitless energy, running around, and causing trouble for him. Even Father is a youth to him, plotting revenge and scheming. Percy does not want to rule the world."

On the other side of the world, Percy mutters to himself, "I just want to rest."

None of that was canon. This is an author's note, by the way. Just wanted to be certain you read it so I disguised it. The reason for doing so being that it is imperative everyone understands that these two stories weren't canonical (though certain independent elements may be canon, obviously. Everything asserted isn't guaranteed to be non-canon, but mostly they aren't canon.

A good way to look at this is understanding these two stories to take place in wholly separate dimensions entirely. Similarities may coincidentally exist, but they are fundamentally unrelated to Ascension. I.e. 'Meanwhile, in an alternate universe:'

 **The second bottom A/N: Please leave a review telling me what you did and didn't like. If you leave a review saying anything that would lead me to believe you thought these stories were canon, then not only will I definitely not respond, I will also think you're an idiot. If you leave a review pretending to not understand this isn't canon, haha, very funny. You got me. You really showed me. So funny, yeah, hilarious. I've been goofed on. Good one.**

 **By the way, if I didn't already mention it, yes, I am sorry for the lack of updates to this story. Things haven't been going superbly for me, so... I don't need to make excuses (since I don't literally owe you anything, you haven't paid for chapters or something like that), but I feel you should at least get an explanation, no matter how short and vague, for investing your time in reading this story.**

 **Please, review. Studies show begging for reviews does in fact work. Study by me, in which chapters where I don't mention it, don't get as many reviews.**


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